A video of Charlotte Dujardin abusing a horse went viral, and it led to her banishment from the Olympics. Upon receiving a suspension, the six-time Olympic medalist was shockingly removed from the Paris 2024 competition.
The video is from a coaching session four years ago, during which Dujardin expressed her deep shame about her error of judgment.
At her stable, Dujardin was seen in a video class with a female pupil, 19, hitting the horse with a heavy whip. After conducting an investigation, the sport’s governing organization, the FEI, issued a temporary six-month suspension to Dujardin.
As a result of the controversy, Dujardin has lost her financing and has little prospect of being made a dame. The horse welfare organization Brooke has fired her from her position as ambassador. According to a Dutch lawyer, this unnamed whistleblower was said to not be able to stomach watching her possibly win a medal at Paris 2024. The video’s uploader, Stephan Wensing, had indicated that the incident occurred in 2022 and drawn comparisons to “an elephant in a circus.”
In the disturbing video, Dujardin trains a horse by repeatedly hitting its legs with a heavy whip. According to Dujardin, who had already apologized, it was “totally out of character” and an “error of judgment.” Three days before the Opening Ceremony along the Seine, she withdrew from the competition without having been to France.
In the wake of the upsetting images, PETA has demanded that the Olympics discontinue all competitions, including animals. According to PETA US SVP Kathy Guillermo, this should have been obvious to the International Olympic Committee by now: Take equestrian activities out of the Olympics.
Just one more Olympic gold would have put Dujardin ahead of another great, Laura Kenny. The two have a combined total of six medals, with Dujardin taking home two golds aboard horse Valegro in her 2012 debut at the Olympics. Dujardin has won three gold medals, and Kenny has five. At Rio 2016, Dujardin not only won silver in the team event but also successfully defended her dressage crown.
The Danish national dressage team barred millionaire Andreas Helgstrand from riding until at least January 2025 in November 2023. This follows allegations of horse abuse that an undercover TV documentary team uncovered. A member of Denmark’s dressage team, Carina Cassøe Kruth, was swiftly dismissed earlier this month following the release of an old film depicting allegations of horse cruelty.
