Dublin. The video footage showed an Irish jockey sitting on a dead horse – now banned from competing for a year. He was one of the winners of the Cheltenham Festival in Great Britain, a four-day horse race last year, and admitted he was featured in the 2016 footage.

The regulator for horse racing in Ireland said on Thursday that Robert James had shown “extremely bad judgment” and that his reputation in the sport had been tarnished. James must also pay a fine of 1000 euros.

“I embarrassed my employers and family, especially the sport I love.”

The 27-year-old posted an apology after the video went viral on social networks. He will not even try to defend his idiocy so as not to cause further damage. “I embarrassed my employers and family, especially the sport I love.”

The board recently banned horse trainer Gordon Elliott for a year for a similar offense. Elliott panicked with his picture on the phone behind the dead horse. James won a famous race in Cheltenham last year on horseback, the Milan Native, coached by Elliott.