Three-time Olympic dressage gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin has been handed a one-year ban and fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (£8,886) for “excessively” whipping a horse during a training session.
Dujardin became famous at the London 2012 Games, where she won gold in the team and individual events on her horse, Valegro. She then won individual gold and team silver at the Rio 2016 Games. On a different horse, Gio, she won two bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
After all this success, she needed just one more medal of any colour to take the outright lead as the most-decorated British female Olympian from Dame Laura Kenny. Dujardin previously expressed that the possibility of doing so felt “surreal.”
Dujardin was meant to compete in the individual and team disciplines at the Paris 2024 Games on new horse, Imhotep. However, a video emerged in July, right before the Paris 2024 Games, of the 39-year-old repeatedly striking a horse more than 20 times with a long whip around its legs and shoulders during a training session at her private stable.
She was immediately handed a provisional suspension from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) whilst it investigated. The FEI is the governing body for eight equestrian disciplines: Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, Reining and Para-Equestrian.
Dutch lawyer Stephan Wensing, who was representing an anonymous complainant, was the one who brought the video footage to the FEI’s attention. The video was seemingly filmed four years ago.
Now, Dujardin has received an official international ban from the FEI. The ban is backdated to the start of her provisional suspension, 23 July 2024, so she is allowed to compete again from July 2025.
She is officially banned for “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare.” However, the FEI also stated that there were no more rule violations detected from the footage and that no further issues have been raised against Dujardin since the video.
The FEI believes that the sanction will act as a strong deterrent: “These significant sanctions send a clear message that anyone, regardless of their profile, who engages in conduct that compromises the welfare of the horse will face serious consequences. We believe this outcome reaffirms the FEI's commitment to equine welfare and to its role as guardian of our equine partners.”
The federation also added that Dujardin’s wrongdoing put the sport in the news for “all the wrong reasons” during the Olympics, and the federation acted decisively by provisionally suspending Dujardin one day after receiving the video footage.
Dujardin voiced: “I fully respect the verdict issued by the Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). As the federation has recognised, my actions in the video do not reflect who I am and I can only apologise again. I understand the responsibility that comes with my position in the sport, and I will forever aim to do better. This has undoubtedly been one of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me during this time.”
Stephen Wensing voiced: “My client is very happy that the FEI has taken this so seriously and this is a good message for the whole dressage world. She is also happy that Charlotte Dujardin has taken this seriously and has taken responsibility and accepted her punishment.”
Dujardin has also been prohibited from participating in national competition or training events by British Equestrian and British Dressage until July 2025.
British Equestrian said that the welfare of horses “has always been a priority.”
It added: “We will continue to work with our member bodies tirelessly to uphold the integrity of our sports through enforcement, education, and advancement in our knowledge.”
British Dressage voiced that it is “united with the FEI in taking a zero-tolerance approach” to poor treatment of horses.
It added: “We launched the charter for the horse last year and remain totally committed to upholding these standards. Working closely with our colleagues across the federation, we will continue to collectively put the health, care and wellbeing of the horse at the heart of everything we do, and proactively demonstrate that equestrian sport is conducted in an ethical and responsible way.”
UK Sport announced that Dujardin is “ineligible to receive public funding and publicly funded benefits” during her suspension. Her funding after the suspension has been served “will be reviewed.”
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