Dressage is being “saved” by a whistleblower who released a video appearing to show six-time Olympic dressage medallist Charlotte Dujardin “excessively” whipping a horse during a training session, according to her lawyer, Stephan Wensing. Dujardin, who withdrew from the Paris Games after the footage emerged, has been provisionally suspended by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), which received the video on Monday. After her withdrawal, Dujardin said in a statement that she was “deeply ashamed.” Her UK Sport funding and ambassadorship for horse welfare charity Brooke have since been suspended. Two of Dujardin’s sponsors, Equine LTS and KBIS, have also withdrawn their backing.
The footage was shot two and a half years ago, not the four years claimed by Dujardin on Tuesday, said Wensing, who revealed the whistleblower was afraid of being a victim of “victim-blaming” for coming forward. Wensing said the removal of a rider from the Danish dressage team had encouraged his client to report Dujardin. The FEI said on Thursday that it had launched “an investigation into the training methods,” but that Charlotte Dujardin, who is provisionally suspended as a result of the video, “continues to be presumed innocent.” The situation, according to Wensing, has revealed a “fear culture” among riders reporting such incidents.
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