Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side

Britain's foremost horsewoman had hoped to become the nation's most decorated female Olympian at this year's Paris Games. 

But three-time gold medallist and dressage star Charlotte Dujardin instead pulled out of the Olympics on Tuesday and was provisionally suspended from the sport pending an investigation, after she was accused of whipping a horse 24 times in one minute. 

A Dutch lawyer sent a video of Dujardin teaching at her private UK stable, in which she can be seen repeatedly whipping the legs of the student's horse, to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), on behalf of the 19-year-old who filed the complaint. The sports governing body said the footage showed Dujardin "engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare". The whistleblower's lawyer, Stephan Wensing, put it more bluntly, telling The Daily Telegraph that the "harsh" whipping was like "an elephant in the circus".

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The British Olympic Association takes animal welfare "extremely seriously", its spokesperson said. But the scandal has sparked calls for all equestrian events to be cut from the Olympic schedule, and brought fresh scrutiny to other similar incidents. 

Leak timing is 'most convenient'

The former eventer, 39, said her career was now "in tatters". "What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils", Dujardin said in a statement. "However, there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment."

The video was recorded years ago – Dujardin says four; Wensing says it was in 2022 – but the timing of its release just days before the Olympics has raised eyebrows. "Is it just a coincidence?" asked The Times' chief sports writer Owen Slot. Dujardin and the British dressage team "were considered strong medal hopes". It seems "most convenient" that Team GB has "been hit with such a blow so close to kick-off". 

The leak – coming through a Dutch lawyer – also stands to benefit the Dutch dressage team. They were "already strong dressage medal contenders" and are now "even stronger". 

None of this excuses Dujardin's "poor treatment" of the horse, but some in equestrian circles are "underwhelmed" by the video. The whip is a "legal enhancement aid for training horses". The six-month suspension had "led people to believe that her use of it would be considerably worse". Mark Todd, the New Zealand horseman who has won two Olympic golds, was filmed hitting a horse 10 times with a tree branch – and in 2022, was suspended for only four months. 

However, what is "so extraordinary" is that part of Dujardin's fame is built on her reputation for care, and her gentle way of working horses. The "synergy" of her relationship with Valegro, the horse she rode to gold-medal victory at the London Games and again in Rio, "charmed the public". The impression she has given is "totally at odds" with her behaviour in the video. 

Dujardin video 'tip of the iceberg'

The video of Dujardin has done "irreparable damage to dressage's once-mystical public perception", said George Simms, sports news reporter for i news. But it is also "unsurprising". Similar behaviour is "so commonplace within elite dressage as to be considered normal".

The use of sharp spurs in all equestrian sports is also common – dressage regularly has to enforce the "blood rule", to eliminate any horses with fresh blood on them during a competition. Dujardin – despite her "comparatively positive reputation" for how she treats horses – was removed from the 2019 European Championships for this reason. 

The use of rollkur – the "hyperflexion of horse's necks" to angle the head close to the chest and "produce a more desirable shape" – is "still widespread", although it causes "breathing issues, psychological damage and long-term spinal injuries". 

Earlier this month Denmark "hastily replaced" a member of its dressage team, Carina Cassøe Kruth, after an old video resurfaced showing alleged horse abuse, said The Sun. Colombian-American dressage rider Cesar Parra was banned by the US governing body earlier this year over a series of videos of abuse. In 2021, German pentathlon coach Kim Raisner was thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics for punching a horse.

And that's just "the tip of the iceberg", sources told the i paper. Industry insiders spoke of "trainers beating animals to the floor with whips, using barbed wire and heavy metal poles to drill showjumping, and repeatedly kicking horses in the stomach and legs". In one case, horses were subjected to "blasting loud music" for days on end to acclimatise them to loud events – the "Guantanamo Bay technique".

The illusion is "shattered", said Simms. Calls for a "blanket ban" on equestrian sports are growing. "Everyone agrees on one thing – something has to change."