Rose said he deleted his social media apology to de-escalate the issue and told the Sydney Morning Herald he wanted the situation resolved quickly.
“With a bit of luck this will all be a bit of a laugh in a few days and we can all move on,” he said. “I wore a costume which you could see at a theme park or a beach. Potentially no one has done it on [a] horse, but there you go. I think I am a good person and I do a lot for the sport, and for people in different situations. I don’t feel like I have done anything particularly bad. In hindsight, I should have re-thought what I did, but at the time I thought it was just a bit of fun.”
Darren Gocher, Equestrian Australia chief executive, said children were at the event. “Whether it is one [complaint] or 1,000, we have an obligation to review it,” he said.
The governing body added: “To be clear, Shane has not been suspended or sanctioned. As is usual in these circumstances for all high performance athletes, he has been stood down from competition for several days while the review is carried out.
“This does not affect his ability to train or otherwise participate in the sport. Equestrian Australia has also encouraged Shane to provide an account of the events if he wishes to do so.”
A petition on Change.org objecting to the decision to stand Rose down has already gained almost 10,000 signatures. “Shane Rose has dedicated his life to equestrian sport and the equestrian community,” the petition reads.