Footage of the incident in which Charlotte Dujardin is accused of striking a horse multiple times with a long whip has been released.
The six-time Olympic medalist was set to compete for Team GB in Paris this summer but withdrew after a whistleblower sent a clip of her whipping a horse in a training session to the Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).
The video, released by Good Morning Britain, was taken four years ago and allegedly showed the 39-year-old mistreating a horse when trying to get the animal to slowly trot during a lesson with a young student. With the trainee rider mounted, Dujardin can be seen whipping the horse’s legs repeatedly.
Dujardin revealed in a statement on Instagram that the clip was being investigated by the British Equestrian Federation and the FEI, and she has now been suspended for six months by the latter.
She apologised for the clip and admitted to making an ‘error of judgement’, insisting that her behaviour was ‘out of character’ and the footage is not a true reflection of how she trains her horses.
Dujardin was set to head to France with aspirations of becoming the most decorated British female Olympian. With six medals to her name already, including team and individual gold medal at the London 2012 games, just one more medal would have seen her eclipse the record held by ex-cyclist Kelly Holmes.