The incident occurred when Simon Delestre, riding for the Istanbul Warriors, finished his round with the chinstrap of his helmet accidentally coming undone. The team expressed deep disappointment:
“Simon is one of the most honourable and respected riders in our sport. We stand for horsemanship and fair play above all else. We are not concerned about the financial consequences, but about the injustice. During a conversation with the jury, we were initially told that no official complaint had been filed. Only social media messages and circulating rumours seemed to have pressured the jury towards a decision.”

According to several sources, the press manager of Iron Dames Equestrian played a key role in the reports that ultimately triggered the disqualification. Notably, a rider from that same team experienced a similar issue earlier this season in Monaco without any resulting penalty.

The developing controversy prompted McLain Ward to publicly address the situation. He stated:

"Simon’s helmets chinstrap came undone towards the end of his round in the GCT team final. Another team principle filed a protest and Simon’s team was eliminated from the competition because the rule is poorly written and absolute."
 
"This particular protest from a competitor shows terrible sportsmanship! And the decision that the jury was forced to take is incredibly unfair and its procedures should be reviewed for future incidents. The loss of results are disappointing but the lack of sportsmanship between teams is disgraceful. Very sad day for our sport!"