British equestrian hero ruled out of Olympics over 'horse abuse'

Video of '24 whips in 1 minute' emerges, Equestrian Federation suspends qualification for 6 months

British 'equestrian hero' Charlotte Dujardin (39, pictured) has been banned from the Paris Olympics after being caught abusing horses.

The BBC reported on the 24th that "the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has obtained a video of Dujardin's horse abuse and has launched an investigation. The FEI has suspended Dujardin from competition for at least six months." Dujardin has won three gold medals in Olympic equestrianism. She won the individual and team dressage events at the 2012 London Games held in her home country, and the individual event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Dujardin has six Olympic medals (three gold, one silver, and two bronze) by the 2021 Tokyo Games, and if she adds just one more, she could become the British female athlete with the most Olympic medals ever.

The video of Dujardin abusing a horse was filmed four years ago. Dujardin was teaching riding at his private gym when he shouted at one of his students, “Your horse needs to lift his legs more.” He then picked up a long whip and struck the horse. The lawyer for the student who reported the video to the FEI said, “Dujardin struck the horse with the whip more than 24 times in one minute,” adding, “It was like he was dealing with a circus elephant.”

Dujardin admitted his wrongdoing on his social media that day, saying, “I committed an inexcusable and shameful act.” He said, “I will not participate in any competitions, including the Olympics, while the FEI investigation is ongoing. I apologize to the British team and the fans.” 파워볼사이트