The United States suffered a major blow at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
The country’s dressage team was forced to withdraw from the competition after judges discovered a cut on one of their horses’ hind legs.
Marcus Orlov was scheduled to make his Olympic debut aboard his horse Jane, but the horse was “surprised by the crowd,” U.S. Equestrian said.
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Team USA’s Marcus Orlov and his horse Jane compete in the dressage Grand Prix team and individual qualifying events on the fourth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Palace of Versailles, France, on July 30, 2024. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
When that happened, Jane said,[stepped] The combination caused the horse’s own blood to stain and cause a wound in his right hind fetlock, and the judges saw traces of blood, forcing him to be disqualified under FEI dressage blood rules, according to the federation’s website.
US Equestrian said Jane “has now returned to her stable, is relaxing in her stall and the bleeding from her cuts has stopped.”
“It was nice and exciting to get down the center line. Obviously Jane [was] “I think it was a bit of an explosive entrance. I think she hurt herself on the entrance. I’ve never had that happen to me before. She felt great in the ring. I was very happy for her. Once we got down the center line, she settled in nicely. As I got going, she just seemed to get more and more relaxed. I was really happy. I said, ‘OK, this is good.’ And then when the bell rang, I was really sad because I knew something was wrong.”
A panoramic view of Sweden’s Patrick Kittel and his horse Touchdown competing in the Dressage Grand Prix team and individual qualifying events during the fourth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Palace of Versailles on July 30, 2024 in France. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
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U.S. team manager Christine Traurig added: “It was a fantastic start to the test for a horse who is only 10 years old, so it was very disappointing as he has been doing this at this level for many years. [a] For a very short period of time, only since February. [Jane] It’s great. Up until that point they were running at about 73% and it’s a real shame because they could have gone up a lot more at the canter and on the final center line.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called for a ban on equestrian events.
“We need to listen to the horses, because while we applaud the officials who removed the U.S. dressage team from the competition, the message the International Olympic Committee should now be on is that horses have reared up on their hind legs,” the organization said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These horses are not ‘partners’; they are being forced to submit to authority and behave in ways that are not natural. The Olympics are a competition of willing participant excellence, and equestrian events must be eliminated.”
A panoramic view of Team France’s Corentin Potier and his horse Gotilas du Feuillard competing in the Dressage Grand Prix team and individual qualifying events during the fourth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Palace of Versailles on July 30, 2024 in France. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
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The ruling came a week after British equestrian and three-time gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Olympics after a video was released showing her allegedly breaching horse welfare principles. Dujardin said the video was “four years old” and that it had been an “error in judgement”.
Two other American riders, Adrian Lyle and Helix, and Stefan Peters and Suppenkasper, will compete as individuals.
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