Lexington, KY – As announced by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) earlier this week, German Olympian Ludger Beerbaum filed an appeal on February 3 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision taken by the FEI Judicial Committee. The FEI Judicial Committee disqualified Beerbaum and his horse, Goldfever 3, from the Athens Olympic Games Show Jumping competitions—competitions in which the pair helped lead the German team to a Gold medal victory.

As relayed by the FEI, on January 7, the FEI Judicial Committee issued its motivated decision in the case relating to the findings of prohibited substances in Goldfever 3, ridden by Beerbaum at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Now that Beerbaum’s appeal has been filed with the CAS, the FEI will be asked to submit a counter statement. Both statements will be reviewed and the CAS will select a chairman of the arbitration panel, requiring the agreement of both Beerbaum and the FEI. This chairman, along with an arbitrator selected by each party, will take part in a hearing that decides the final outcome.

While there is no precise time table for these situations, the FEI advises this decision making process usually takes about two months.

For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager, by phone at (859) 225-6974, or via e-mail at [email protected]. USEF press releases can be found on www.usef.org.