LAUSANNE — Former equestrian world champion Sheikh Hazza Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has had his ban cut for a doping violation at an endurance race in Abu Dhabi. The International Equestrian Federation says a 27-month ban was cut to 18 on Sheikh Hazza's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The FEI had imposed a longer ban because of his previous doping case. The rider from the United Arab Emirates was stripped of the 2005 endurance world title after his horse tested positive for a corticosteroid. In February 2012, Sheikh Hazza won a 160-kilometer race at Al-Wathba. His horse, Glenmorgan, tested positive for a banned pain killer. Riders are liable even if stable staff administer a banned substance. The CAS panel ruled Sheikh Hazza was not significantly to blame but upheld his disqualification. — AP
