Equestrian Australia has acted swiftly in its review of Olympian Shane Rose, concluding that he did not breach the code of conduct by wearing a mankini during a Fancy Dress jumping competition at Wallaby Hill Extravaganza on 11th February.
This will no doubt be a relief for three-time Olympic medallist Shane, who had already issued a public apology for any offence that may have been caused, after a member of the public raised concerns with Equestrian Australia and other sporting bodies.
It will also no doubt be greeted with delight by the many thousands of people, both in Australia and overseas, who have publicly supported Shane after Equestrian Australia advised that it was conducting a review into the matter.
Equestrian Australian CEO Darren Gocher said that “Equestrian Australia has an obligation to look into any concerns of this nature that comes from the community.”
“Having now thoroughly reviewed the incident and spoken to relevant parties, Equestrian Australia has confirmed that there was no breach of the code of conduct by Shane Rose.”
“With the matter now resolved, Shane and his teammates are now looking forward to continuing to focus their attention on qualifying for Paris.”
There may also be a silver lining to the unusual happenings of the past week – it seems that Shane has literally ‘uncovered’ a way of attracting interest in the sport of eventing.
The mankini incident caught the imagination of media worldwide, something that the governing bodies have been striving to do for many years!
