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EU sports law and the equestrian world: a galloping area of increasing importance

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Abstract

This paper aims to look at a new angle of EU sports law, namely that of the equestrian sport. In doing so the paper investigates to what extent the horse sport including the racing industry complies with EU law. Sport has for a long time been recognized as falling within the scope of EU law if connected to economic activity. Nonetheless, some national equestrian and racing federations have special rules that are more favorable to home bred horses or only allow such horses to enter a race or a class. This sounds like clear-cut discrimination from a EU law point of view, but up until now there have been no, or very few, analyses of these issues and to what extent these special national rules could be justified (for example to safeguard the breeding of national horses which is the common justification put forward by some national racing associations). Another area, which merits attention, is that of travelling with horses (with EU passports) to sports events in the EU. The EU regulation in question requires a health certificate from an official veterinarian but how these rules are applied in practice varies. Hence the purpose of this paper is to investigate a new area of EU sport law, which seems to have been neglected and remained in the shadow of other sports: that of the European horse world. In short, this paper examines an area, which has thus far not gained much attention in the discussion of sport and the Union.

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Notes

  1. Among many commentators see the contributions in Bogusz et al. (2007).

  2. See e.g., Bogaert (2010), p. 488, Weatherill (2010), p. 480.

  3. Other horse sport areas include competitive driving, endurance riding, gymkhana, reining and rodeo.

  4. This issue also touches upon the broadcasting of racing events. See the recent Cases C-403/08 and C-429/08 Football Association Premier League Ltd., a system of licenses for the broadcasting of football matches which grants broadcasters territorial exclusivity on a member state basis and which prohibits television viewers from watching the broadcasts with a decoder card in other member state is contrary to EU law. There is no reason to believe that this would not apply to the rules on horse racing as well.

  5. Case C-51/96 and C-191/97 Deliege v Ligue de Judo (2000) ECR I-2549.

  6. C-415/93 Bosman (1995) ECR 1405.

  7. Garcia and Weatherill (2012), p. 403.

  8. C-415/93 Bosman (1995) ECR 1405.

  9. Garcia and Weatherill (2012), p. 238.

  10. Case C-176/96, Lethonen (2000) ECR I-2681.

  11. Case C-51/96 and C-191/97 Deliege v Ligue de Judo (2000) ECR I-2549.

  12. Szyszczak (2007), chap. 1.

  13. Weatherill (2007), chap. 3.

  14. See e.g., Szyszczak (2007), chap. 1 and Parrish and Miettinen (2007).

  15. Case C-519/04P, Meca Medina ECR I-2006, p. I-06991.

  16. Driving, reining, rodeo and vaulting should be added here which also involves horse and rider/driver, but are not Olympic sports.

  17. For an introduction to the different kinds of disputes that may occur in American law (in the absence of any European law books on the subject known to the author), see e.g., Katz (2001), 1.

  18. This area is often referred to as ‘equine law’. However, a horse that is being returned after 2 years because it did not jump like that star the seller had promised could be a very different horse once returned which may of course also be caused by bad riding from the new owner. So the sale of goods law is often very problematic with regard to animals. The author speaks from her previous experience as a lawyer in a law firm.

  19. The Commission regulates the horse sport under ‘free movement of goods for sporting purposes’. http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/sport/l35006_en.htm#.

  20. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations amending Directives 64/432/EEC and 93/119/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1255/97.

  21. Available at: http://www.jordbruksverket.se/amnesomraden/djur/hastar/tauthastarurlandet.106.2b43ae8f11f6479737780001218.html.

  22. In the Netherlands, the situation has improved significantly between 2009 and 2012 from having been almost impossible getting any information from the agriculture authorities and none from the veterinarian association, to a much smoother exercise in 2012. The explanation given by veterinarians is that no one ever asks for these certificates and they simply did not know. Unofficial telephone interviews held on 2 July 2012 with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture (conducted by the author).

  23. See generally Chalmers et al. (2010), chap. 16.

  24. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport, and COM (2011) 700 final, on the impact of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport.

  25. Council Directive 90/428/EEC of 26 June 1990 on trade in Equidae intended for competitions and laying down the conditions for participation therein.

  26. However, according to Article 4 of the Directive, member states may reserve a certain percentage of the prize money or profits for the safeguard, development and improvement of breeding. Member States intending to avail themselves of these possibilities shall inform the Commission thereof beforehand in general terms.

  27. http://www.swedehorse.se/.

  28. http://www.swedehorse.se/regler/allmänna_regler_2012.

  29. http://www.fei.org.

  30. Annex XVII: Extracts from Rules for Pony Riders and Children, 9th edition". Fédération Equestre Internationale. 2009.

  31. Mr Lars Wedin and pony ‘Pretty woman’, documents on file with the author (2004-12-01-2005-06-01, Mjoberg & co law firm Gothenburg). For a newspaper article highlighting the issue http://www.vf.se/node/53789.

  32. For a discussion of the FEI rulebook, see http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2008/04/17/fei-pony-measurement-rules-fine-tuned-and-regulated.

  33. The Swedish pony association, http://www3.ridsport.se/Tavling/Ponnymanual/.

  34. http://www.svenskgalopp.se/sg/haestfolk/info-och-regler.html.

  35. Council Directive 90/428/EEC of 26 June 1990 on trade in Equidae intended for competitions and laying down the conditions for participation therein.

  36. Available at http://www.hblb.org.uk/document.php?id=15. The Breeders’ Prizes Scheme states that to be allowed in a race a horse must: (a) be the progeny of a British-based sire, as determined by the Thoroughbred association) (i) must have foaled in Great Britain and not left before July 1st of the year following birth, except to accompany its dam to be covered, provided it returns with its dam by 1st October of that year, or if the dam has died abroad, returned alone to Great Britain before October 1st of that year (ii) foaled while its dam was visiting a stallion outside Great Britain, provided that it returned with its dam to Great Britain before October 1st of the year of its birth or, if the dam died abroad, returned alone to Great Britain before October 1st the year of its birth and did not leave Great Britain again before July 1st of the following year. (c) A horse which is otherwise qualified under (a) and (b) above shall not be disqualified from the Breeders’ Prize Scheme if it is exported from Great Britain having been sold in the year of its birth or as a yearling, under the hammer, by public auction in Great Britain at Tattersalls Ltd., Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Ltd., or Brightwells.

  37. Available at http://www.france-galop.com/uploads/tx_smiledocutheque/Etat_des_lieux_primes_01.pdf.

  38. Available at http://www.france-galop.com/uploads/tx_smiledocutheque/Etat_des_lieux_primes_01.pdf.

  39. For a recent analysis of the problems with doping in the racing industry, see Forde (2012), 19.

  40. Especially Athens 2004. See Wentd (2011), 1.

  41. Available at, http://www.fei.org/sites/default/files/file/ABOUT%20FEI/Code%20of%20Conduct/The_FEI_Code_of_conduct_for_Welfare_of_the_Horse_FEB2012.pdf. See the interesting discussion in Wentd (2011), 1.

  42. FEI clean sport regulation. On the possibilities of relying on Article 6 European Convention of Human Rights in order to challenge doping rules under criminal law fair trial guarantee system and other aspects, see, Mullern (2010), 259. See also Mullern (2012), 11.

  43. The author draws on own experiences from engagement in the racing sport.

  44. E.g., Engel and others v. Netherlands, Series A, No. 22; (1979–1980)1 ECHR 647, 20/04/1977 and Orzuk.v. Germany, Series A, No. 73; (1984) 6 EHRR 365, 21/02/1984.

  45. Case C-617/10, Åkerberg Fransson, pending case.

  46. Opinion of AG Cruz Villalon delivered on 12 June 2012, pending case.

  47. Garcia and Weatherill (2012), 238.

  48. Garcia and Weatherill (2012), 238.

References

Books and articles

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  • Bogusz B et al (eds) (2007) The regulation of sport in the European Union. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham

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  • Szyszczak S (2007) Is sport special? In: Bogusz B et al (eds) The regulation of sport in the European Union. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham

  • Weatherill S (2007) ‘On overlapping legal orders: what is the ‘purely sporting rule’?’ In: Bogusz B, Cygan A, Szyszczak E (eds) The regulation of sport in the European Union. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham

  • Weatherill S (2010) Bosman changed everything: the rise of EC sports law. In: Poiares Maduro M, Azoulai L (eds) The past and future of EU law: the classics of EU law revisited on the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty, Hart, Oxford

  • Wentd J (2011) The FEI and the continuing fight against doping in the equestrian sport. Int Sports Law J XX

Websites

Cases

  • Engel and others v. Netherlands, Series A, No. 22; (1979–1980)1 ECHR 647, 20/04/1977

  • Orzuk.v. Germany, Series A, No. 73; (1984) 6 EHRR 365, 21/02/1984

  • Case C-617/10, Åkerberg Fransson, pending, Opinion of AG Cruz Villalon delivered on 12 June 2012

  • Case C-519/04P, Meca Medina judgment of 18 July 2006 nyr

  • Case C-415/93 Bosman (1995) ECR 1405

  • Case C-176/96, Lethonen (2000) ECR I-2681

  • Case C-519/04P, Meca Medina ECR I-2006, p I-06991

  • Cases C–403/08 and C–429/08 Football Association Premier League Ltd, nyr

  • Case C-51/96 and C-191/97 Deliege v Ligue de Judo (2000) ECR I-2549

EU legislation and documents

  • COM (2011) 700 final

  • Council Directive 90/428/EEC of 26 June 1990 on trade in Equidae intended for competitions and laying down the conditions for participation therein

  • Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations and amending Directives 64/432/EEC and 93/119/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1255/97

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Acknowledgments

Thanks go to Annette Nordhausen Scholes and David McArdle for their useful comments on an earlier draft. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewer of this journal for helpful suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies.

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  1. Centre for European Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Ester Herlin-Karnell

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Herlin-Karnell, E. EU sports law and the equestrian world: a galloping area of increasing importance. Int Sports Law J 13, 168–175 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-013-0004-6

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