162 SIDELINES APRIL 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Equine Law
By Lisa Hollister, Esq
Months ago you purchased a horse and now you have in
your possession correspondence from the United States
Equestrian Federation (USEF) informing you that your horse
is going to be placed on suspension due to the up-and-coming
suspension of the previous owner. Your heart drops and your
pulse increases and you feel faint. Not all is lost, but you will
have to do some work to convince the USEF that your equine
should not be subject to suspension merely because a former
owner is about to be placed on the suspension list.
USEF’s Authority To Suspend An Equine That Has Been
Sold To A Non-Suspended Owner
Under GR 703.1 “If found guilty, the accused will be subject to
such penalty as the Hearing Committee, or other individuals
with authority to assess penalties may determine, including…
b. SUSPENSION of such person …” In section c. this rule fur-
ther states that “SUSPENSION for any period of the horse or
horses, owned by him or her or shown in any name of for his,
her or credit or reputation,
whether such interest was held at
the time of the alleged violation or acquired thereafter.” (em-
phasis added)
In other words, the USEF under this rule reserves the right
to suspend all horses which were owned by the suspended
individual at the time the alleged violation occurred, not merely
those horses which are owned by the individual at the time
the Hearing Committee made its decision to suspend the indi-
vidual or horses owned by the suspended person during the
time of the actual suspension.
Obviously, this presents a problem for the buyer or prospec-
tive buyer of a horse. For example, an incident can occur at a
horse show and if the suspension comes about as a result of
a charge (an action brought by the USEF) rather than a Pro-
test (an action brought by another exhibitor) the equine could
easily have been purchased and sold several times before the
party being threatened with suspension even becomes aware
of the charge. Under GR 604.2.d, a Charge if made to a Hear-
ing Committee, the Charge must be received by the Federa-
tion within a reasonable time. In the past “reasonable time”
has been interpreted as being up to a year. (Protests must be
filed within 10 business days following the last day of either
the competition or the violation). As a result, the reader can
see that situations can easily arise where a subsequent owner
could end up with a horse that was not on suspension when
they purchased it, but later has a pending suspension as a
result of something that happened when the previous owner
had the horse.
What Can You Do If This Happens To You?
Fortunately, under the USEF’s Rule GR 703.1c “the Executive
Committee or Hearing Committee may at a later date remove
the horse or pony from the suspension list or list of horses and/
or ponies to be suspended if it is demonstrated to their satis-
faction that a sale or transfer was made by the party facing
the suspension in a manner as to be a bona fide transaction
and “
NOT WITH THE INTENTION OF RELIEVING THE SUS-
PENDED OWNER OF PENALTY
.” (
emphasis added
) The cor-
respondence which you submit along with any collaborating
documentation should detail the exact relationship between
you, as the present owner, and the owner who has or will be
placed on suspension.
Obviously, it is helpful if you can “provide evidence” that other
than the purchase of the horse or pony, there is very little in
the way of a relationship between you and the previous owner.
You will also be asked to submit any relevant documents con-
cerning the bona fide sale. Such documents may include the
bill of sale, as well as front and back of the cancelled check
and/or transfer information as well as registration papers and
proof of ownership transfer with the USEF.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the suspension of individuals by the USEF
sometimes results in parties, as well as horses, being pun-
ished for the actions of others. If this ever happens to you, it
is advisable to work closely with the USEF and try and get the
horse in question taken off any impending suspension list.
Lisa Hollister is an attorney
practicing in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Questions for Ms. Hollister’s
column can be addressed to
.
A Letter From the USEF You Don’t Want To Get
