Open Secret of Kocher Electric Spurs Emerges in Detailed FEI Decision

Witness recalls hearing ‘pops and snapping noises’ at a show where Kocher told him he was trying to fix the spurs as they were ‘too hot’.

Over 1,000 photos of jumping rider Andy Kocher were submitted to the FEI’s investigators, with an apparent trigger device visible in 73 of them, it has emerged.

Kocher, who early this spring was suspended for 10 years for using electric spurs on multiple horses, went to considerable lengths to conceal the practice, the FEI Tribunal has concluded. Yet his use of the device was an open secret, with former staff and owners testifying they were fully aware.

The FEI Tribunal has just released its 54-page reasoned decision after announcing the operative part previously. The document shows the role of un-named whistleblowers in bringing the case to light, and also the FEI’s astonishment that Kocher has shown no remorse.

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