It comes as a sponsor of the event said it would hand out free mankinis next year and donate money to a men’s health charity for anyone who wore the item of clothing.
A complaint was made after Rose donned the skimpy swimsuit at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza in the Southern Highlands on February 11.
Rose was stood down by EA while an internal disciplinary process was completed,but has been given the all clear to return to racing.
“The Equestrian Australia Review Panel met on Monday and found that Mr Rose did not breach the code of conduct at Wallaby Hill on 11 February,” EA said in a statement released on Monday afternoon.
“The panel took into account the community event that Mr Rose was competing at and that Mr Rose had already made a public apology.”
After the verdict was handed down,a relieved Rose said he would focus on his Olympic preparations.
“It’s a great relief to get it to happen and prepare for Paris as best I can,” Rose told this masthead. “I’ve got an event in New Zealand which is only two and a half weeks away.”
Asked if he’d consider wearing a mankini next year,Rose said:“I think I might just take a back seat and let people go their hardest.”
The EA disciplinary panel handed down two recommendations:
Equestrian Australian CEO Darren Gocher said in a statement:“Equestrian Australia has an obligation to look into any concerns of this nature that comes from the community.
“Having now thoroughly reviewed the incident and spoken to relevant parties,Equestrian Australia has confirmed that there was no breach of the code of conduct by Shane Rose.
“We take the recommendations on board and will move quickly to ensure the relevant actions are taken. Our sport is made up of wonderful individuals and we have plenty to look forward to in the year ahead.
“Shane has reflected on the incident,has apologised and understands the high standards expected of everyone involved in our high-performance program. With the matter now resolved,Shane and his teammates are now looking forward to continuing to focus their attention on qualifying for Paris.”
Meanwhile,a major sponsor of the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza threw its support behind Rose on Monday.
“Next year at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza,to embrace Shane’s sense of humour we will be donating a MANKINI to all spectators to support men’s health,” wrote Christopher Pennells,a director at Bowral Kubota. “We will be donating $100 for each spectator who has a sense of humour and tries to outdo Shane.”
Earlier on Monday,Rose told 2GB’sBen Fordham Live he “didn’t mean to offend anyone” by wearing the costume and that the incident had been “blown out of proportion”.
“I was pretty thoughtful,I had to put a cap downstairs and I put some electrical tape up to make sure there were no mishaps,” Rose said on Monday morning.
“It’s pretty scary. I’ve got a fairly important event coming up in New Zealand in a couple of weeks which is hopefully my last ticket for Paris … hopefully it’s a positive thing that can come out of the next few days.”
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