Olympic Champion Whipped Horse – Banned for a Year

Charlotte Dujardin is banned for one year by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). The British dressage star's unethical training methods created big headlines just before the Olympic Games last summer.

» Published: December 05 2024

Olympic Champion Whipped Horse – Banned for a Year
Photo: David Goldman/AP/TT

The verdict takes effect from July 23. Already then, Dujardin was provisionally suspended after a four-year-old video leaked, showing the 39-year-old whipping a horse 24 times in a minute.

"I am deeply ashamed and should have been a better role model at that moment," Dujardin wrote in a social media post, apologizing for her behavior.

Charlotte Dujardin has won three Olympic Games gold medals during her career, two individual and one team. She withdrew from this summer's Olympic Games in Paris when the video spread.

The scandal surrounding the British star is just one of several that have shaken the dressage sport in recent years.

Last year, the highly merited Dane Andreas Helgstrand was suspended from the national team after a TV documentary showed how horses in his care were mistreated and ridden too hard.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has since introduced stricter rules and stepped up its work for better horse welfare and control.

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By TTTranslated and adapted by Sweden Herald
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