"No Excuse and Embarrassed" Admits Mistake
Won a Total of 6 Medals at the Olympics
Olympic gold medalist and world-renowned equestrian Charlotte Dujardin has lost her qualification to compete in the Paris Olympics ahead of the opening ceremony. This is due to a video from four years ago showing her abusing a horse being reported.
On the 24th (Korean time), BBC and ESPN reported that Dujardin was disqualified from the Olympics for whipping a horse. It is known that before the Tokyo Olympics, in 2020, while teaching a student rider at her private training facility, she whipped the horse's legs because it was not lifting its legs high enough.
Charlotte Dujardin, an Olympic gold medalist and world-renowned equestrian, lost her qualification to compete in the Paris Olympics ahead of the opening ceremony. This is due to a video from four years ago showing her mistreating a horse being reported. [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]
The student rider’s side recently submitted the video showing Dujardin’s abusive behavior to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) and reported the incident. After reviewing the video, the FEI launched an investigation and revoked Dujardin’s eligibility to participate in international competitions. The FEI stated, "Dujardin was involved in actions contrary to horse welfare principles."
The student rider’s lawyer said, "Dujardin used a long whip to strike the horse 24 times within one minute," adding, "It was like treating an elephant in a circus." He also mentioned, "There is a culture of fear in dressage, so my client wishes to remain anonymous." As the controversy grew, Dujardin admitted her wrongdoing on her social media, stating, "There is no excuse. I am very ashamed." The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and British Dressage (BD) announced that they would suspend Dujardin’s qualification until the FEI investigation results are released.
Dujardin is a leading figure in British equestrian sports, having won gold medals in individual and team dressage at the 2012 London Olympics, a gold medal in the individual event and a silver medal in the team event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and bronze medals in both individual and team events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was also considered a medal contender for the Paris Olympics and was mentioned as a candidate to be the flag bearer for the British team at the opening ceremony. Becky Moody, a reserve athlete, will compete in the Paris Olympics in Dujardin’s place.
Previously, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Kim Raisner, the German modern pentathlon coach, was disqualified for punching a horse. When the horse refused to jump over an obstacle and did not obey, he was caught on broadcast punching the horse. This incident sparked intense animal abuse controversy, leading to the removal of equestrian events from the modern pentathlon after the Paris Olympics, to be replaced by obstacle course events.
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