SYDNEY: The sponsor of an equestrian event in Australia has promised to give every spectator a "mankini" next year after three-time Olympic medallist Shane Rose was stood down from competition for wearing the revealing garment earlier this month.
Rose was cleared to resume his quest for a spot at the Paris Olympics on Monday (Feb 19) after Equestrian Australia (EA) said the 50-year-old team eventer had not breached their code of conduct by wearing the G-string inspired by the comedy film Borat.
"Shane has reflected on the incident, has apologised and understands the high standards expected of everyone involved in our high-performance programme," EA chief executive Darren Gocher said in a statement.
"With the matter now resolved, Shane and his teammates are now looking forward to continuing to focus their attention on qualifying for Paris."
Rose, a silver medallist at the Beijing and Tokyo Olympics and winner of a bronze in Rio, had worn the risque attire at an unofficial fancy dress show-jumping event at Wallaby Hill in the Southern Highlands south of Sydney on Feb 11.
Gocher said EA had been obliged to look into the incident as there had been a complaint "from the community" and said the review panel had recommended minimum dress standards for future events and a review of the "education models" for athletes.
Rose, who said he had no intention of offending anyone, received a huge amount of support from the equestrian community on his Facebook page with many applauding his sense of humour.
Sponsors Bowral Kubota, an agriculture equipment dealership, on Monday posted a picture of Rose in the offending costume and said it would be making an unusual donation for the 2025 event.
"Next year at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza, to
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