As a result of this rehearing, the Hearing Committee once again found that both Farmer and Glefke violated the Federation rules due to the unpermitted presence of GABA in UNEXPECTED. As a result, and in accordance with the applicable Penalty Guidelines, the Hearing Committee imposed a penalty of 18 months suspension and fine of $18,000 against Farmer and a penalty of 24 months suspension and a fine of $24,000 against Glefke.
The suspensions are set to begin on July 1, 2017. Hearing Committee took into consideration Farmer’s prior reserpine doping offense, as well as Glefke’s prior reserpine doping offense and recent Acepromazine violation coupled with the filing of false medication report forms for several horses at an April 2015 competition. The Hearing Committee noted that Glefke has attempted to avoid the financial aspects of his suspension that began February 1, 2017 by shifting certain horses that he previously trained to Farmer as the new trainer. Moreover, they found that Farmer was equally responsible for these efforts to circumvent the impact of Glefke’s Feburary 1 suspension. She took these horses to competitons during this suspension. This contributed to the determination of the penalty.
USEF President Murray Kessler commented, “Clean sport is one of the highest priorities for this Federation and is the one that our members value the most. I commend the Hearing Committee for their strong decision in this case. It represents their commitment to the enforcement of the rules and a desire to rid our sport of cheaters.”
Farmer and Glefke petitioned the Federation for a rehearing, claiming they had not been properly notified of the alleged violation or hearing. At that time, USEF President Murray Kessler explained that “[d]espite the fact that a fair hearing was conducted with proper notification to the respective parties, that this was the first case in which the new Board of Directors’ approved penalty guidelines were utilized, the extremely serious nature of the violations, and the substantial penalties imposed, the Federation did not object to a rehearing.”
In response to the request for a rehearing, the USEF agreed to it subject to two conditions, including that the rehearing must be held promptly so that a ruling could be issued prior to July 1, the date upon which the suspensions in the original decision were to commence. Glefke and Farmer agreed to the conditions. The Hearing Committee granted the request and put the parties on notice that suspensions levied in the resulting decision, if any, would commence on July 1.