- Charlotte Dujardin has withdrawn from the Olympics after a shocking video emerged
- In the video, Dujardin is said to have whipped a horse’s legs 24 separate times.
- The six-time Olympic medalist said her career was “in tatters” after the incident.
The British team was shaken on Tuesday ahead of the Paris Olympics after dressage star Charlotte Dujardin was forced to withdraw from the games when a controversial video emerged showing her repeatedly whipping a horse on the legs.
Dujardin, a six-time Olympic medallist, had hoped to become Britain’s most decorated Olympian this summer but admitted her career was “in tatters” and the 39-year-old has been widely condemned.
Dujardin has since been suspended by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) for six months.
Harrowing footage of the incident was broadcast on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, showing Dujardin walking alongside the horse, which was being ridden by a 19-year-old woman, while allegedly striking its legs with a whip 24 times.
In fact, Dujardin’s treatment of the horse has been compared to that of “an elephant in a circus.”
WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES
Charlotte Dujardin was forced to withdraw from the Paris Olympics when a controversial video emerged showing the six-time Olympic medallist repeatedly whipping a horse’s legs.
Dujardin was reportedly teaching the horse to do the ‘piaffe’, a slow-motion trotting technique traditionally associated with dressage.
Dujardin admitted regret and said his career was “in tatters” after the controversial video
This has sparked much speculation about what Dujardin is supposed to have been showing in the video, which she says is from four years ago, although the complainant’s lawyer claims the clip is from 2022.
According The TelegraphDujardin was trying to teach the horse to do the ‘piaffe’.
The ‘piaffe’ is the slow trotting technique traditionally associated with dressage.
It is usually achieved by hitting the horse very gently, giving him just enough stimulus to lift his legs.
However, Dujardin, who has since admitted she is “deeply ashamed” and made an “error of judgement”, has understandably been fiercely condemned for repeatedly striking the horse with force.
Explaining more about the video and reacting to it, former event participant and current ITV racing presenter Alice Plunkett told the Telegraph: ‘It’s not a video that makes anyone feel comfortable watching.
‘It’s not appropriate and it’s not something I’ve ever seen in my years of working with horses.
“It’s not a common practice. It’s not the usual way of training horses for high-level dressage, she knows that and I don’t understand how she got into that situation because she is a person who has made horses her life.
“She’s in a systematic training session, she’s training someone else’s horse in that video and she’s made the wrong decision on how to solve the problem. It’s not acceptable.”
Dujardin reportedly struck the horse hard 24 times and has been convicted.
Dujardin, a three-time gold medallist, admitted his “devastation” after making “an error in judgement”
In a statement announcing the shocking news, triple gold medallist Dujardin said: ‘A video from four years ago has surfaced showing me making an error in judgement during a training session.
“It is understandable that the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) is investigating and I have taken the decision to withdraw from all competition, including the Paris Olympic Games, while this process takes place.”
She went on to add: ‘I sincerely regret my actions and am devastated to have let everyone down, including Team GB, the fans and sponsors.
‘I will fully cooperate with the FEI, the British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations and will not comment further until the process is complete.’