After dressage scandal – riders fear being dropped from Olympics – Sports

Charlotte Dujardin fears for her career and the future of equestrianism at the Olympics. The scandal involving the three-time Olympic champion is not the first this year; photos of horse abuse are no longer rare.

The dressage competition held in front of the fairytale Palace of Versailles has been sold out for more than a year, but in the days leading up to the competition, a deep shadow fell over the Sun King’s magnificent residence.

Charlotte Dujardin, winner of three Olympic gold medals and Commander of the Order of the British Empire, beats a horse during training. She appeared several times in the video broadcast by the broadcaster, 24 times to be exact. Independent Television Wednesday on his daily show Good Morning Britain.

The scene was shocked and once again worried about their Olympic status. The associations are doing everything they can to prove their Olympic dignity. In Germany, the German Equestrian Association (FN) and others recently launched a campaign with the slogan “#doitride”. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Association also followed suit and launched the “Become a Guardian” initiative to act as a guardian of the welfare of horses.

Declaration, revocation, suspension

Then Dujardin, of all people, hit a horse with a blow. No completely clear photo shows this clearly; Dujardin himself admitted on social media that he made a mistake in training.

The world association immediately supported her withdrawal from the Olympics, temporarily suspended her and launched an investigation.

However, this is not the first scandal involving rock dressage:

• In December 2023, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation brought TV2 Disturbing footage of rider Andreas Helgstrand shown to the public during training
• In February 2024, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) spoke out about a “disturbing and disgusting video” of the training methods of American dressage rider Cesar Parra.
• At the end of June, the Danish association removed its rider Carina Kassö Krüth from the Olympic squad. The reason: violating Rule 16 of the Common Rules of Equestrian Sport. These include: “Riding must never involve psychological or physical abuse or violence against the horse.”

Open questions about the video

Dujardin is the first real big name in this “balance sheet of terror”; she and the legendary Valegro took dressage to a whole new level. According to British media and Dutch website horses.nl, the explosive video was leaked to Dutch lawyer Stephan Wensing by a client.

Contrary to Dujardin herself, Wensing claims that the video is not from four years ago, but from two and a half years ago. But why did his client, who wished to remain anonymous, hide an obvious case of animal cruelty for so long? Wensing said she was warned not to press charges, but “with the Olympics approaching, she decided to take action.” Dujardin is 39 years old and her career may be over.