Anthony Thomas takes Supreme Court action against Equestrian Australia claiming three-month ban is ‘manifestly unfair’

An equestrian has attacked the sport’s peak body in court, saying it ‘unfairly’ banned him for three months – putting his top 10 national ranking at risk.

A prominent Adelaide equestrian says his national top 10 ranking has been jeopardised by a “manifestly unfair” three-month ban from the sport prompted by a private investigator’s report.

Anthony Thomas, owner of Southern Sport Horses, has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in his ongoing dispute with Equestrian Australia.

He has asserted the peak body had no power to suspend him during one of the sport’s busiest periods – and broke its own bylaws in doing so.

Mr Thomas asserts that, because of the ban, he missed out on riding at the 2022 Australian League World Cup Qualifying Series Rounds in Sydney and Tamworth.

That, he asserts, carries significant consequences for both his current horse, SL Donato, and himself.

Equestrian Anthony Thomas and his previous horse, Fluke, in action.

“If the applicant cannot compete in these events, it will affect his rankings,” his court documents assert.

“Just prior to his suspension, he was ranked number six in Australia by the World Cup rankings … he generates income from his success (in the sport).

“The suspension was an error of law (arising from) manifest unfairness … Equestrian Australia failed to follow its own rules.”

In his court papers, Mr Thomas asserts Equestrian Australia’s chief executive suspended him on July 25 this year, but did not inform him of that ban until three days later.

That, he asserts, is a breach of the body’s bylaws which require suspensions to be imposed by an independent tribunal following a hearing.

Mr Thomas asserts he both appealed the decision and filed his Supreme Court action before learning further details of his alleged breaches.

Mr Thomas riding Fluke.

Mr Thomas riding Money to Burn.

“The suspension was based on a private investigator’s report, but that was not produced to the applicant until just before the appeal hearing,” he asserts.

“(When it was produced) it was in a heavily-redacted form.”

He asserts the appeal hearing went ahead on August 25 and, when his challenge was dismissed, “no reasons were given”.

“The decision (to suspend) was not made by a tribunal and the applicant was not heard … he was not given procedural fairness,” he asserts.

Mr Thomas asks the court to quash the suspension and issue a public declaration that it was unfair, and restrain Equestrian Australia from “taking any step” to stop him competing.

Supreme Court records show that, on August 30, Equestrian Australia agreed to stay the three-month ban until the dispute had been resolved.

That allowed Mr Thomas to resume work and made him eligible to seek to compete in subsequent competitions, including those held at the Royal Show.

On September 9, the court was told Equestrian Australia did not convene a tribunal to consider the suspension because Mr Thomas’ membership in the body “had expired”.

It heard Equestrian Australia “took the view that it had no jurisdiction over a non-member and so did not list a hearing”, and that Mr Thomas had since renewed his membership.

The case continues.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Mr Thomas was taking action against Equestrian SA. He is not, and Equestrian SA is not a party to these proceedings and has not imposed any suspension upon Mr Thomas.