Charlotte Dujardin, Team GB’s celebrated dressage star, has been banned from the sport just days before the Paris Olympics following allegations of horse mistreatment.
DTNZ reported on the incident earlier, but since then video footage of the abuse has surfaced, showing Dujardin whipping a horse’s legs more than 24 times during a training session.
The whistleblower, represented by Dutch lawyer Stephan Wensing, claims the mistreatment was not an isolated incident. The scandal has halted Dujardin’s aspirations of becoming Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, a title she currently shares with cyclist Laura Kenny.
The footage, aired on Good Morning Britain, has sparked widespread condemnation and left Dujardin’s career in disarray. Former eventer and ITV Racing presenter Alice Plunkett stated that the video has left Dujardin’s career “in tatters,” emphasising that such actions are not standard practice in dressage. The FEI and British Equestrian Federation have provisionally suspended Dujardin, who has expressed remorse and acknowledged her conduct was inappropriate.
