The FEI has followed suit and provisionally suspended Evi and Tanya Strasser as of 18 February 2024, pending Equestrian Canada's investigation in allegations of misconduct.
The FEI made the following statement to Eurodressage:
The FEI is aware of the Provisional Suspensions by Equine Canada of Evi Strasser and Tanya Strasser-Shostak, and has implemented them at FEI level.
It is common practice for FEI to reciprocate (Provisional) Suspensions from National Federations at FEI level and vice versa. Regarding which body implements the suspension first, this would generally be in relation to overarching jurisdiction.
For example, in the recent case with Cesar Parra, the FEI took the lead and implemented the Provisional Suspension which was then mirrored by US Equestrian because they do not have the necessary jurisdiction with regards to the alleged incidents as they took place outside of the competition environment, whereas the FEI’s General Regulations Article 142 provide jurisdiction beyond the competition environment, and hence allowed the FEI to impose a provisional suspension while the investigation takes place.
However, if you take the example of Andreas Helgstrand (DEN), when the allegations surfaced, it was the Danish National Federations that took the lead in the proceedings, because they have the relevant/appropriate Rules and Regulations in place to do so, with the understanding that any sanctions will then be mirrored by the FEI. This avoids there being two proceedings.
** Note that US Equestrian has recently sent a memo to its members for proposed rule changes to further strengthen and increase their scope of jurisdiction when it comes to reported horse abuse outside of competition.
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Evi and Tanya Strasser Issue Statement on Provisional Suspension
Evi and Tanya Strasser Provisionally Suspended due to Allegations of Misconduct