In sport, as in life, there are generally two categories of transgression. There are the gravely serious: the sexual assaults, match fixing and doping – the kinds of offences which warrant significant punishment commensurate with the crime.
Then there are the other kind. The oh-yep-they-went-there-but-didn’t-harm-anyone-in-the-process genre. This is where Todd Carney’s bubbler lives, and where Mitchell Pearce pretending to hump a small dog at a house party resides. As of last weekend, it is also where mounting a horse while wearing a mankini inhabits.
And it has to be said, Shane Rose was diligent in his efforts to avoid causing offence. There was no way his baloney pony was escaping the cap and electrical tape the two-time Olympic silver medallist applied to avoid any “mishaps” during his dress-up session at Wallaby Hill Extravaganza earlier this month.
That the question of whether Rose’s bits were adequately concealed has made global headlines in the first place is absurd, particularly considering the Australian did a pretty good job of upholding the event’s dress code. Wallaby Hill’s website states that, in its Equestrian Extravaganza, “eventers pit themselves against show-jumpers, while wearing outrageous costumes”.
The only stipulated dress requirements, according to the conditions of entry, are that: “Australian, European & American helmets standards will apply. All riders must wear riding boots and an approved helmet at all times whilst mounted, including presentations. Back protectors are optional for all other jumping phases.”
Photos of Rose from the day show he is indeed wearing riding boots and a helmet. He has complemented both with what he deemed an “outrageous costume”. For all intents and purposes, he appears to have followed the rules diligently.
If all is in order on that front, then, what of the unnamed complainant? Well, if one is attending a light-hearted event centred around outrageous costumes, it stands to reason that one should probably learn to govern one’s outrage.
From time to time, we have all seen a bottom we did not expect to see. The nudie run has long been an especially Australian (and British) celebration of failure and mediocrity. Streaking possesses its own storied history.
Even the mankini has been something of a cultural phenomenon for the almost two decades of Borat’s lifespan. The person who took offence may perhaps count themselves lucky they were watching a 50-year-old on horseback and not a marathon runner some two decades his senior (a quick Google image search throws up a few).
But the potential ramifications could be substantially more serious for Rose, and this is where Equestrian Australia is responsible for what comes next.
EA chief executive Darren Gocher has said the complaint prompted an internal disciplinary process, and a review will determine if Rose is sanctioned. That could range from a warning through to a fine and/or suspension, and the latter could threaten his selection chances for the Australia eventing team at the 2024 Games in Paris in July.
(Clockwise from left) Shane Rose, Mitchell Pearce, Borat and Todd Carney.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
This is where the stark contrast between Rose’s lightweight controversy and the more serious issues equestrian is grappling becomes relevant. On an international level, the sport has been beset by allegations of sexual abuse, bullying and animal welfare issues.
Victorian rider Callum Edward Buczak was in 2019 charged with raping a fellow competitor. At the time Maggie Dawkins, a South Australian child protection advocate and prominent critic of Equestrian Australia, referred the case to the sport’s world governing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale, accusing EA of favouring “an alleged perpetrator of rape over and above his alleged victim”. In 2022, all charges against Buczak were dropped by the Office of Public Prosecutions.
The EA board has also been the subject of a NSW coronial inquest into the deaths of two teenage riders during separate events in 2016. Dawkins, meanwhile, had previously spoken out about an alleged “toxic” culture at Equestrian South Australia (ESA), and in 2018 claimed she had experienced threats, intimidation and harassment in response to her criticisms of the organisation.
In 2020, EA entered voluntary administration six weeks out from when the eventually postponed Tokyo Olympics were supposed to start, a situation that has been described as an “unprecedented disaster” among Olympic sports by then Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates.
The shock development was triggered by Sport Australia turning off the funding tap to EA, unable to continue to justify pouring cash into an organisation which has been wracked by dysfunction, claims of self-interest and shoddy governance.
In all, equestrian has dealt with problems which fall into the gravely serious category. Rose, on the other hand, is widely viewed as one of equestrian’s nice guys. Yep, he went there, but no harm was caused aside from some probably quite uncomfortable chafing in his nether regions. Rather than punish him, perhaps the sport in which he competes could do with some manscaping.
