with complaints to contact Police or the RSPCA.

Officials from the Driving Horse and Pony Club have denied they make their animals suffer during weekly meetings at the National Equestrian Centre at Vesey Street.

One woman even claimed some owners used cattle prods to whip their ponies into shape before harness races.

She also said another well-known rider made his pony race with "broken'' and bloodied knees, after running him literally off his feet on New Year's Day.

But the rider -- Eddie Roque -- denied he had been cruel to his animal.

And DHPC spokesman David Lopes said club officials had even reviewed a tape of the race and cleared the rider of any cruelty charges.

Mr. Roque pointed out riders who injured horses put themselves at risk -- since there was greater likelihood of falling.

"My initial comment is no comment because when silly people make accusations, I don't need to be involved,'' he said of the allegations.

"If they couldn't see what really happened, well I'm sorry.

"I have been racing ponies and dealing with animals for most of my life. If anybody thinks I'm going out there to hurt myself by getting broken ribs then they're crazy. It's absolutely ludicrous.'' Mr. Lopes, 56, also said Mr. Roque was not guilty of cruelty -- adding that the race's presiding judge had cleared the pony to continue running.

He added: "Our riders love their animals. They are not deliberately cruel to them.

"People see whipping going on at the track. But in fact, we are hitting the knee pad and the whip makes a cracking noise which gets the pony's attention.

"We are not licking the animal, as some people think, and it's not something which hurts them.

"In fact, some of our members' ponies are treated better than some of the children on this Island. That's unfortunate.'' He also said there had been no known case of an owner using a cattle prod on his pony for "at least 12 years''.

He added: "Any cruelty or suspected cruelty should be reported immediately to the RSPCA or the Police.

"That's something which must be brought to the authority's attention because no club can police all its members every day.'' The cruelty controversy flared after a woman harness-racing fan wrote to The Royal Gazette claiming some owners were "barbaric'' to their ponies.

She called on the DHPC to implement new rules to protect ponies.

And she added last night: "I do believe there are rules which allow the presiding judge to stop a pony from racing.

"But Eddie Roque's horse has fallen down many times. They don't ban it because they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.

"Instead, they have threatened to ban me from the track because I sometimes call out in excitement during the races.

"That happens at football matches, for goodness sake. It's simply a fact that there are some bullies down there.''