FRENCH event rider Maxime Livio has been cleared to compete following confirmation that the B sample taken from Bingo S, a borrowed horse he rode in at a show jumping event in Thailand last November, has failed to confirm the initial positive result.

Announcing the findings, the FEI said that while the A sample taken from the gelding at the CSI*W in Pattaya last November tested positive for the banned substance testosterone, confirmatory analysis on the B sample conducted had not upheld the original result. The B sample analysis for Bingo S confirmed the presence of testosterone but did not breach the threshold level applicable for geldings.

Livio, who has been provisionally suspended since February, has now been cleared to compete, while the horse has also been reinstated for competition and the case has been dropped by the FEI.

A separate, earlier case involving Maxime Livio, whose horse Qalao Des Mers tested positive for a metabolite of the controlled medication substance acepromazine at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy last August is still ongoing.

The result of that investigation could affect France’s team qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics, which the team achieved in Normandy when Livio was part of the team.