Cabinet rifled through in Kildare Equestrian Federation break-in

The latest twist in the controversy came when Avril Doyle, president of the federation, revealed that the door of the office in Co Kildare had been forced and a cabinet rifled through.

News of the break-in came hours after EFI officials sought an urgent meeting with the world equestrian body, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), after a sample from Cian O’Connor’s horse Waterford Crystal went missing after it was sent to a UK testing laboratory.

Dope tests released in October revealed that Waterford Crystal had traces of a sedative in his system while competing in the Athens Olympics in August.

Both Mr O’Connor and his vet, James Sheeran, have repeatedly insisted they did nothing wrong.

Mr O’Connor exercised his right to have a second so-called B sample tested at the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory near Newmarket in Cambridgeshire, England after the A sample tested positive.

But the sample never arrived.

Commenting on last night’s break-in at the EFI, Ms Doyle, who is also an MEP, said: “In the context of an international investigation involving Lausanne in Switzerland and Cambridgeshire in the UK, this is not just your ordinary break-in. It may be an ordinary break-in but I am afraid the coincidence is rather too much.”

Ms Doyle said she did not know if anything had been taken.

Gardaí confirmed officers were examining the scene after they received a call shortly before 8am.

The FEI revealed yesterday that a portion of Waterford Crystal’s B sample was “illegally taken” in Cambridgeshire, England on October 21 while it was being transported from a Paris lab for testing.

The FEI said the sample was being shipped by an independent courier service from the Medication Control Programme Central Laboratory in Paris to the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory.

Police in Cambridgeshire and Lausanne, where the FEI is based, were informed and were investigating the case.

On last night’s break-in Ms Doyle said: “As far as I can tell, nothing relating to this case in question, in relation to the Athens drug-testing, was disturbed, but that is pending confirmation from the gardaí and the secretary general.

“Given the juxtaposition to developments yesterday and the international investigation, we have to treat this very seriously indeed.”

Mr O’Connor’s lawyer, Andrew Coonan, said he and the 24-year-old showjumper had known nothing until yesterday about the disappearance of the sample.

Mr O’Connor’s vet Mr Sheeran has said the sample tested positive due to a sedative the horse was given while undergoing hydrotherapy.

He said he could not understand how this medication could be found in the A sample a month later and it was not a performance-enhancing substance.

Eddie Macken, the former trainer of the Olympic team, joined other leading equestrian figures in calling for an inquiry to take place into the whole affair.

“It sounds very, very strange. I really think the only way to get to the bottom of this is there has to be an inquiry into this right from the top level,” the renowned showjumper said.

“All everybody wants to know is the truth, everybody’s name to be cleared and I am sure that Cian O’Connor would like this very much as well.

“I think really this has to start with the FEI right from the top back down and the whole thing has to be traced down along,” Mr Macken told RTE news.

A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Police said: “On Tuesday October 26, the police were notified that a urine sample from a horse, which had participated in an equestrian event, was believed to have been stolen on Thursday October 21.

“The sample was due to have been delivered by couriers to the Horse Racing Forensic Laboratory on Newmarket Road in Fordham, Cambridgeshire. However, the sample never arrived.

“The courier company delivered the package, which was signed off. There appears to have been an error with the delivery when the sample was discovered to be missing or stolen.”