The Charlotte Dujardin horse-whipping scandal is ‘hugely damaging’ for dressage, equestrian experts said today following a series of previous controversies in a sport that requires gruelling training regimes, strict diets and immense pressure to win.

The British Olympian has withdrawn from Paris 2024 over a video from a coaching session showed her making ‘an error of judgement’ four years ago, in her words.

The three-time Olympic dressage champion has also been provisionally suspended by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) with immediate effect.

It follows a series of equine abuse scandals to have hit the sport including outrage in 2010 over the ‘rollkur’ method which is said to have turned horses’ tongues blue.

Abuse also came into the spotlight at Tokyo 2020 when a German coach struck a horse that refused to jump a fence. At the same games, a horse died in a cross-country accident while another suffered from severe nose bleeding from jumping.

Back in 2010, the row over rollkur – labelled ‘the blue-tongue scandal’ – threatened to disrupt the sport ahead of London 2012, with some fans threatening a boycott.

The controversy started when a video posted on YouTube showed a dressage horse being ridden using the technique – also known as hyperflexion.

The practice involves drawing a horse’s neck round in a deep curve so its nose almost touches its chest.

Swedish jockey Patrik Kittel could be seen warming up his horse, Watermill Scandic, using the position – and the animal’s tongue appeared to loll out and turn blue.

The clip led to a mass outcry and the practice was then banned by the FEI.

Then at the Tokyo 2020 games, German modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner was thrown out for punching a horse ridden by Annika Schleu during a competition in August 2021.

Schleu lost her chance of a gold medal when the horse Saint Boy, which was assigned to her at random, refused to cooperate during the showjumping round.

TV footage showed Schleu repeatedly used the whip and she was urged to strike the horse by Raisner. The coach was also shown leaning over a fence to strike Saint Boy.

Raisner was suspended from the Olympics over her part in the incident and later ordered to undergo animal welfare training.

German prosecutors launched an animal cruelty investigation but it was dropped in January 2012 after Schleu and Raisner paid an agreed sum to an unnamed charity.

Prosecutors said they reached the decision because the horse was not injured, the conduct in question took place ‘briefly,’ and that the Olympics constituted an ‘exceptional physical and psychological situation.’

Also during the Games, a horse called Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel on the Swiss team, was put down after suffering an injury on the cross-country course. 

Dujardian has previously spoken about the intense daily training regime of a dressage champion, which sees her start riding at 7.30am and go to bed exhausted at 9.30pm.

She told the Guardian in 2018 that she finds it hard to relax and works seven days a week, riding until 5pm before training at the gym – then teaching at the weekends.

Dujardian, who takes a ‘proper’ holiday once a year, also has a personal trainer to ensure she eats the correct amount of carbohydrates, protein and fats.

Her fellow dressage Olympian Adrienne Lyle , from the US, also previously wrote for Dressage Today about a day in the life of a competitor – saying she woke up at 6.30am before arriving at her barn in Idaho at 7am and feeding the horses.

She then began working with the horses at 9am before finishing around 1pm. Her team’s groom cleaned and hosed them while she had lunch, then she started hand-walking and grazing them from 1.20pm and helping complete chores in the barn.

By 4pm, Lyle said her horses were wrapped up for the day and then fed dinner with their supplements. The afternoon clean-up in the barn began at 5pm.

She then did paperwork and returned phone calls at 6pm before heading to the gym for at least an hour. By 8pm the barn work was finished and she had dinner.

Speaking about the Dujardin video today, ITV Racing presenter and former eventer Alice Plunkett told Good Morning Britain: ‘The video is incredibly shocking.

‘It’s shocking in the methods used to make the horse go forward but also it’s shocking because it involves a woman who is highly respected in Charlotte Dujardin who has a very measured and natural way of training her horses at home.

‘So it’s so out of context from everything that I know in terms of the way she manages her horses at home, the way she’s produced so many horses to medals since 2011. In terms of equestrian sport, the welfare of the horse is front and centre.’

She added: ‘It’s not a video that makes anyone feel comfortable watching, it is not appropriate, and it’s not something that I’ve ever seen in terms of the years I’ve been working with horses, and it’s not standard practice.

‘That is not a standard way of training horses for top level dressage, and she knows that. I just don’t understand how she got into that situation because she is somebody who has made her life from horses because she manages them in a way that they work for her. Valegro would not have performed in the way he did for her if she was treating him like that.

‘She’s in a systematic training session, she’s training someone else’s horse in that video and she’s made the wrong decision in how to solve a problem. It is not acceptable what you’re seeing there, and it is not standard practice.’

She also said that the incident was ‘hugely damaging’ for the sport, adding: ‘You cannot get away with producing a horse in that way. Ultimately she has not got away with it, and you will not get away with it – and the horses won’t keep performing for you in that way.’

Asked about Dujardin’s future, she said: ‘She will be hung, drawn and quartered on social media. This will be her defining legacy. And I just want people to remember in the middle of this, there is a human being.

‘She deserves the punishment, she’s made a mistake, but there is a human being in the middle of this. Her professional career is in tatters.’

The video that led to Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian pulling out of Paris 2024 shows her whipping a horse’s legs multiple times.

Dujardin, 39, was provisionally suspended yesterday after the equestrian sport’s governing body launched an investigation.

The video, which was aired on Good Morning Britain today, shows Dujardin walking beside the horse, which is carrying another rider, and whipping it along.

She is seen striking the horse on the legs multiple times during an exercise around a ‘piaffe’ – a slow motion trot.

The FEI said it was investigating the video ‘depicting Ms Dujardin engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare’.

Djuardin said in a video statement announcing her Olympic withdrawal on Instagram yesterday that the footage showed her making an error of judgement that was out of character and did not reflect how she trained her horses or coached her pupils.

The FEI received the video from a lawyer on Monday but the complainant was undisclosed. FEI veterinarian director Goran Akerstrom said today that what the video showed was unacceptable.

‘Charlotte Dujardin was seen whipping the horse numerous times. You can certainly see that some of the whiplashes hit the horse and the horse was stressed with it,’ Mr Akerstrom said.

‘As this is an ongoing investigation on our side, I can’t tell you more than that, but it’s clearly a distressing picture.’

Mr Akerstrom added that the FEI had put measures in place to address similar violations of equine welfare.

‘I’m confident that the measures we are taking now with the FEI action plan for equine welfare are very strong and there are actions that address exactly this,’ he said.

‘It’s about making sure everyone involved in the sport doesn’t do anything so contradictory to welfare and so stupid in regards to the learning process of the horse.’

Mr Akerstrom also said the FEI recently released an action plan with 37 measures to protect horses, including rules for the tightness of nosebands and flexible cross-country obstacles designed to prevent severe accidents.

In Paris, the horses have climate-regulated stables with extra large boxes and round-the-clock surveillance as the sport’s governing body seeks to display its efforts to put animal welfare first.

The FEI has also appointed a dedicated ‘Horse Welfare Coordinator’ for the first time, leading a team of stewards that monitor every horses movements throughout the games, including at night.

‘My job is to be strict,’ said Richard Corde, the retired French veterinarian who was appointed for the job. ‘We will make sure that the horse is always in the most comfortable conditions, that there are no constraints and that there are no abnormal movements.’

Meanwhile the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) renewed its call for equestrian events to be banned from the Olympics.

Kathy Guillermo, US senior vice president of Peta, said: ‘The message to the International Olympic Committee should be clear by now – remove equestrian events from the Olympic Games.

‘Yet again, an Olympic rider has been caught on video abusing a horse to force the animal to behave in an entirely unnatural way, simply for her own glory.

‘Horses don’t volunteer – they can only submit to violence and coercion. It’s time for the Olympics to move into the modern era.’

Also today, Dujardin was dropped as an ambassador for horse welfare charity Brooke.

A spokesman for the organisation said: ‘We were deeply disturbed to learn about this video.

‘Our whole ethos is around kindness and compassion to horses, and to see the opposite of this from someone with such a high profile is beyond disappointing.

‘There can never be a justification for mistreating animals.’

In her role as a Brooke ambassador, Dujardin had previously travelled to India for a television documentary.

Brooke, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries, runs one of its biggest programmes in India.

And Dujardin visited villages on the outskirts of New Delhi, where she witnessed the charity’s work.

Dujardin won three golds, a silver and two bronze medals at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 – which took place in 2021 – in individual and team dressage.

With six medals, she is Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian alongside cyclist Laura Kenny.

Dujardin won hearts as well as a gold medal at Rio 2016 when her boyfriend Dean Wyatt Golding was in the crowd famously wearing a sign saying: ‘Can we get married now?’

Speaking last night at the couple’s home, stunned Mr Golding told the Mail: ‘It’s all come out of the blue. I can’t say anything beyond Charlotte’s statement. All we can do is wait and see what happens.’

Asked if he knew who the video had been released by and how it had been shared, Mr Golding said: ‘No, we have no idea. Charlotte is obviously cooperating with the equestrian authorities for now.’

Dujardin’s teammate, Carl Hester, told Reuters earlier this month that all equine athletes needed to pay close attention to horse welfare.

‘Trying to show how well we look after our horses, how fairly they’re treated, that sport is not unfair on the equine partners. I think we all have to pay attention to that,’ he said.

‘They got rid of animals in circuses, didn’t they, because that was unfair and we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen in equestrian sport.’

The FEI suspension bars Dujardin from any competitions or events under the body’s jurisdiction and those run by a national federation.

The FEI said: ‘On July 22, the FEI received a video depicting Ms Dujardin engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare. This video was submitted to the FEI by a lawyer representing an undisclosed complainant.

‘According to the information received, the footage was allegedly taken several years ago during a training session conducted by Ms Dujardin at a private stable.

‘Upon receiving the video, the FEI promptly initiated an investigation. As part of this investigation Ms Dujardin, British Equestrian and British Dressage were informed of the allegations.

‘Subsequently, Ms Dujardin confirmed that she is the individual depicted in the video and acknowledged that her conduct was inappropriate.

‘On July 23, Charlotte Dujardin requested to be provisionally suspended pending the outcome of the investigations and voluntarily withdrew from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.’

Dujardin hit the horse ‘more than 24 times’, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The whistleblower’s lawyer, Stephan Wensing, said that the alleged blows were delivered in the manner of ‘old-style abuse of elephants at the circus’.

Mr Wensing also told Dutch website horses.nl: ‘It is unacceptable that dressage sport should be accompanied by animal abuse.

‘If top level sport can only be performed in such a way that the welfare of the horse is compromised, then top-level sport should be abolished.

‘It is extremely sad that one of the most successful riders in the world has to pay the price.’

In a statement issued yesterday, Dujardin said: ‘A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session.

‘Understandably, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) is investigating and I have made the decision to withdraw from all competition – including the Paris Olympics – while this process takes place.

‘What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.

‘I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors.

‘I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete.’

FEI president Ingmar De Vos said: ‘We are deeply disappointed with this case, especially as we approach the Olympic Games in Paris.

‘However, it is our responsibility and crucial that we address any instances of abuse, as equine welfare cannot be compromised.

‘Charlotte has expressed genuine remorse for her actions, and we recognise and appreciate her willingness to take responsibility.

‘Despite the unfortunate timing, we believe this action reaffirms the FEI’s commitment to welfare as the guardians of our equine partners and the integrity of our sport.’

Dujardin could have become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian in Paris. A medal of any colour would have taken her clear of Kenny, with whom she is currently tied on six medals.

Dujardin was due to compete in both the individual dressage and the team event alongside Hester and world champion Lottie Fry.

She is expected to be replaced in the team by alternate Becky Moody and her horse Jagerbomb, with the British Olympic Association (BOA) confirming: ‘We will be applying to bring in a reserve athlete under the IOC’s late athlete replacement rules.’

Dujardin rose to prominence with individual and team golds at London 2012 while riding Valegro – to a soundtrack that included Land of Hope and Glory. The duo retained the former title and won silver in the latter at Rio 2016.

A BOA spokesperson said: ‘The British Olympic Association can confirm the withdrawal of Charlotte Dujardin from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and we acknowledge the seriousness with which she is taking this matter.’

British Equestrian and British Dressage issued a joint statement confirming they have also provisionally suspended Dujardin.

BE chief executive Jim Eyre said: ‘As the guardians of equestrian sport, we must uphold the highest standards of equine welfare – the horse’s wellbeing is paramount.

‘The allegations made are serious and the consequences far-reaching but upholding the integrity of our sport remains our priority – we are privileged to enjoy the company of horses; we must never compromise on their wellbeing.’

Also today, World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said the Dujardin video was a ‘massive wake-up call for anyone who thinks this is not important’.

The charity welcomed Dujardin’s decision ‘to take full responsibility and withdraw from the Paris Olympics’.

‘This story is another salutary reminder of how vital it is that equestrians put the welfare of the horse first, all of the time, whether in the competition arena or behind closed doors,’ Mr Owers said.

‘We welcome Charlotte’s decision to take full responsibility and withdraw from the Paris Olympics, and British Equestrian and the FEI’s swift action.

‘Horse sport rightly has high standards, as illustrated in the FEI Code of Conduct and British Equestrian’s Charter for the Horse, but it is a collective responsibility to maintain these standards.

‘Respect for the horse must be at the heart of every equestrian, and every equestrian sport, and their actions must demonstrate that respect all of the time.

‘World Horse Welfare actively supports horse sport, but there cannot be any tolerance for unacceptable practices, no matter how experienced the rider or coach.

‘We know that a successful future for horse sport has public trust at the centre of it, and this requires equestrians to be caring and to always treat their horses with respect, compassion and understanding.

‘This is another massive wake-up call for anyone who thinks this is not important, because it most certainly is.’