Olympic equestrian champion handed ban following horse-whipping scandal

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Three-time Olympic equestrian gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin was suspended from all competition for one year on Thursday following a horse-whipping scandal that saw her withdraw from the Paris Games in July.

Dujardin was provisionally suspended by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports on July 23 as the governing body launched an investigation into a video from four years ago showing her repeatedly whipping a horse while coaching another rider.

A complaint was made to the FEI by Dutch equine lawyer Stephan Wensing on behalf of an unnamed client.

Dujardin cannot compete again until July next year, with the suspension back-dated to July 23 of this year. The FEI’s sanction, for “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare,” also included a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs ($11,300).

Dujardin accepted the sanctions and will not be appealing.

In its ruling, the FEI said it considered that the video “constituted the only occurrence of horse abuse committed by” Dujardin and therefore viewed it as an “isolated incident.”

The 39-year-old Dujardin won gold at the 2012 London Olympics in team and individual dressage and won another individual gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. She took bronze in team and individual at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and a silver in the team event in Rio.