The 32-year-old was provisionally suspended by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) earlier today when Lantinus tested positive for capsaicin – a class A medication prohibited due to his pain relieving properties. Three other horses from Germany, Brazil and Norway also tested positive for the substance.
However Lynch, along with Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) Chief Executive Damien McDonald and team veterinarian Marcus Swail, called a press conference during the final in Hong Kong tonight to explain why the test had returned positive.
They stated that Lynch used a DeepHeat-like cream called Equiblock – that contains capsiacin as an ingredient – on his horse and had been using it as part of their preparations for some time.
“Once we were informed of the positive finding our first reaction was to work out how it had come about,” said Swail.
“We established it was contained in a product called Equiblock which Denis uses commonly during warm-up.
“Denis has worked hard to get here and his preparations have been no different to anything he has done in any previous competitions.
“It seems to be an extremely severe punishment that he is not allowed to jump tonight given that he has been tested before without any problems.”
Lynch described himself as shattered after being denied the opportunity to compete in the event.
The Tipperary-born rider had been in fine form during qualifying, picking up just two penalty points in the first two rounds and six in his third outing to qualify for the final.
“I’m shattered,” said Lynch. “I can’t really say anymore.
