IN the wake of the FEI opening a case this week against Irish rider Kevin Thornton for the alleged abuse of a horse at a French show, his Swiss legal attorney again stressed his innocence in the matter.

The Louth rider was at the centre of a social media storm that he allegedly whipped a horse to death, Flogas Sunset Cruise, at a show in Cagnes sur Mer, France, last month. The Swiss-based rider vehemently denied the allegations at the time, giving detailed public statements over the incident.

The horse was owned by Ballina’s Vinnie Duffy who both spoke of his family’s devastation over the loss of the talented show jumper but also strongly condemned what he termed the “social media assassination” of the young rider before all the facts were fully known.

Speaking to The Irish Field on Thursday evening, Swiss attorney-at-law for Kevin Thornton, Dr. Monika Gattiker, said that the case presented by the FEI against her client was very thin on the ground in terms of actual evidence.

Dr Gattiker said: “The facts the FEI have presented to me so far is very thin. It is their job to investigate and it is within their discretion to issue a press release in such matters. We have no problem with that at all.

“However, they must present a proper case and we will respond. I am not going on a fishing expedition looking for witnesses and evidence based on incomplete allegations and inconclusive evidence. It is up to them to present the evidence if it exists. It is our job to react to what the FEI presents.”

The attorney-at-law said that was a lack of any real conclusive evidence from the autopsy carried out in Lyon on the body of the horse. “The autopsy report does not give any conclusive information, nothing you could actually rely on.

“We have been informed that the FEI veterinary department is of the view that it cannot be excluded that moderate tissue changes in a specific muscle area could be indicative of excessive whipping. However, there are no conclusive details on this.

“Saying something cannot be excluded is the same as saying it is a very low probability and you just cannot accuse someone on that basis. There must be specifics, this is a legal case. If they have a good case, well let’s hear the evidence and they should also take into account that the defence costs money and that increases the cost for Mr Thornton. But saying something cannot be excluded is not evidence you can actually base accusations of this serious nature on,” said Dr Gattiker.

More information from the FEI is currently being awaited by Thornton’s legal representatives.

FEI STATEMENT

The FEI statement issued on Thursday afternoon’s read:

The FEI has opened a case against Irish Jumping athlete Kevin Thornton (FEI ID 10056297) for alleged abuse of the horse Flogas Sunset Cruise (FEI ID 103KQ92) at Cagnes-sur-Mer (FRA) on 10 October 2016. This case is taken in accordance with Articles 142 and 163 of the FEI General Regulations.

The athlete has been given the opportunity to provide a written reply to the allegations, including any documents, witness statements or other evidence that may be used in any legal proceedings arising out of this case.

Once this information has been received and a full case file has been compiled, the FEI will submit the matter to the FEI Tribunal under Article 142.2 of the FEI General Regulations.

As the matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, the FEI will not comment further at this time.