A shocking video emerged four years ago of British Olympian Charlotte Dujardin whipping her horse during training, forcing the three-time gold medal winner to shockingly withdraw from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
The chilling video shows Dujardin repeatedly whipping the horse as it roams the dirt training arena, with the horse showing little reaction to the blows.
One particularly stomach-churning moment comes when the horse appears to be terrified and tries to run away from Dujardin, and Dujardin approaches with his whip, eventually hitting the horse.
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) announced this on Tuesday. The company received a video “that showed Mr Dujardin engaging in conduct that was contrary to horse welfare principles.”
The statement said the incident occurred at a private stable and that the lawyer submitted the video to lodge a complaint.
The FEI subsequently launched an investigation, and Dujardin confirmed his identity to the organization and “acknowledged that his conduct was inappropriate.”
She was provisionally suspended by the FEI. British Eventing and British Dressage She was given the same sanctions, being banned from both national and international competitions.
While announcing his withdrawal, Dujardin took to Instagram to apologise for his actions.
“A four-year-old video has been released which shows I made an error of judgement during a coaching session,” Dujardin said in a statement.
“While what happened is completely out of character for me and does not reflect the way I train horses or mentor my students, there are no excuses. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example at that moment.”
“I truly regret my actions and am devastated to have let everyone down – the British team, our fans and sponsors.
“I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian and British Dressage in their investigation and will refrain from making any further comment until these have been completed.”
In a statement announcing the investigation, British Dressage chief executive Jason Brautigam said the complaints contained “historic allegations”.
“We do not tolerate any conduct that goes against our guidelines and have a zero-tolerance stance toward any breaches of our horse welfare policies,” Brautigam said. “These historic allegations are deeply distressing to everyone involved in our sport, but we fully support the FEI’s investigation and will take appropriate disciplinary action once this process is complete.”
FEI president Ingmar de Vos said the organisation was “deeply disappointed by this incident”.
“However, it is our responsibility and very important that we address cases of abuse as we cannot compromise the welfare of the horses,” de Vos said in a statement.
“Charlotte is sincerely remorseful for her actions and we recognize and appreciate her willingness to take responsibility. Despite the poor timing, we believe this action reaffirms the FEI’s commitment to the welfare of our equine partners and the integrity of our sport.”
The 39-year-old Dujardin won two gold medals each in the team and individual dressage events for England in 2012, and added a further gold medal in the individual dressage event in 2016.
She has six Olympic medals, including two bronze medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
