AMERICAN event rider Marilyn Little has lost corporate sponsorship deals and is in the middle of a social media storm after pictures of blood on the mouth of her horse, RF Scandalous, at the Land Rover Kentucky CCI4* event, where the combination finished third, have sparked outrage. The rider was found to be blameless by FEI officials.

The horse in question passed multiple FEI veteirnary checks throughout the event and in the wake of the online controversy, Marilyn Little issued a statement expressing her devastation at negative online comments and emphasising how much she loves her horses and how important their happiness and well-being is to her and her team.

Officials at the event were alerted to a small amount of blood on the 13-year-old mare’s mouth before the combination set out on cross-country but they were passed fit to continue. On finishing the course, a video clip shows Little’s groom running up to catch the horse and wiping her mouth with a towel.

EnviroEquine & Pet cut ties with the 2015 Pan American gold medallist on Monday, saying: "In light of the recent controversy concerning Marilyn Little's horse at the Land Rover Kentucky 3-Day Event and despite the ground jury/veterinary decision to allow her to continue to compete, Enviro Equine & Pet and Marilyn Little have agreed to end their professional relationship effective immediately. This will be the final statement."

MDC Stirrups have also withdrawn their sponsorship. In a statement, they added: "Our customer base has indicated that they would prefer we withdraw our sponsorship with Marilyn Little. Although there have been no official findings against her, we will support our customers in their belief in the integrity of the sport. MDC Stirrups and Marilyn Little have mutually agreed to disengage our sponsorship at this time. MDC does not support animal abuse, human abuse or brand abuse."

FEI STATEMENT

A statement released by FEI officials at Kentucky said: “At the warm-up, Marilyn and the groom went to official veterinarian Duncan Peters to have [Scandalous] checked because there had been some blood that was wiped clean. The vet noticed a small cut inside the lip away from the bit. It had stopped bleeding, which said to the vet that the horse had bitten herself. The bleeding stopped, the ground jury was informed, and there was no report of blood at the finish.”

FEI rule 526.4 states that: “Not all cases of blood will lead to elimination. In minor cases of blood in the mouth, such as where a Horse appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, or minor bleeding, after investigation in consultation with the Veterinarian, the Ground Jury may authorise the Athlete to continue.”

Little and RF Scandalous led the competition after dressage and added just eight cross-country time penalties to their final score to finish in third place behind Oliver Townend (Cooley Master Class) and Michael Jung (fischerRocana). The result still stands.

LITTLE STATEMENT

Releasing a statement on her own social media, Little said: “First, I want to offer my sincere regret for the negative attention this has brought to the horses and sport that we all love, as well as the pressure that is being put on my personal sponsors. I could never achieve any success in this sport without my horses, my incredible support team, the people who make this sport great, and the sponsors who help me along the way.

“I tried my very best to be transparent in every possible way in Kentucky and followed our sport's protocol in the best interest of my horse. My horse was checked multiple times by FEI officials: after the Dressage, before the start of cross-country, again at the finish, and at the second horse inspection on Sunday morning, and at all times was passed fit to continue.

“I believe very deeply in following the rules our sport has in place and am beyond devastated by the comments and negative perception of how my horses are cared for. I love my horses very, very much and their happiness and well-being mean the world to me. I want to personally thank the officials doing their jobs to keep our sport fair and safe, as well as my sponsors and those who have stood by me at this time.”