“The General Councils of CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) and FISE (Italian Federation of Equestrian Sport) have presented an appeal against Sig. Paolo Giani Margi, following the decision of the FISE Federal Court of Appeal, on 9 October 2015, which in part changed the sentence of first degree (which would have expelled Margi from FISE for life), to that of suspending any and all federal responsibility for a period of four years only.
The appellants request that the Tribunal now reverse the appeal decision, confirming that Margi transgressed the Federation’s regulations and requesting that he be expelled for life.”

With this official press release, CONI takes a firm stance in the controversy surrounding the death of the horse Flambo, thanks to questions raised by IHP.

Let us reconstruct the events to date: in November 2014, following a number of eyewitness reports, IHP sent a complaint to the sports authorities and to the State Public Prosecutor, requesting investigation into the circumstances of Flambo’s death (probably due to a training method well known for being harsh) and to investigate exactly what happened in the hours following the horse’s fall, when the horse lay in agony on the ground with no request for, or recourse to, veterinary care. Flambo died in the most horrible way, in atrocious agony, in the back of a loose box.

At the same time, IHP sent another complaint, about a similar event involving a mare, Aspen, kept at the same yard, and during a training session by Margi. Aspen, like Flambo, suffered a nasty fall, fracturing two vertebrae in the sacro-iliac area.
In June of this year the FISE Sports Tribunal handed down sentences of expulsion for the Flambo case, and suspension for the Aspen case.
However, in October, the federal Court of Appeal of FISE revised the Margi sentence and changed it from expulsion to suspension for four years, a move which resulted in much angry polemic.

Sonny Richichi, President of IHP, comments: “We are still waiting to hear the outcome of this judicial affair, and are determined to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile we are pleased to note the appeal presented by CONI and by FISE. This is an important signal that goes beyond the Flambo case and which could provide a clear stance against equine abuse and mistreatment”.