Charlotte Dujardin Out of Olympics for Whipping Horse

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Facts

  • UK equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin, Britain's joint-most decorated female Olympian with six medals, has withdrawn from the Paris Games and 'requested to be provisionally suspended' after a video emerged showing her 'excessively' whipping a horse.1
  • According to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), the three-time Olympic champion in dressage has admitted her conduct was inappropriate and has fully cooperated with their investigation into the footage.2
  • While it has not been determined when the incident occurred, the official complaint with the FEI alleges the recording was made two and a half years ago. However, Dujardin claims the video is four years old.3
  • The 39-year-old Team GB legend, who reportedly risks being stripped of her CBE honor ('Commander of the Order of the British Empire') has also lost her UK Sport funding and was dropped as an ambassador for a horse welfare charity.4
  • Team GB announced on Wednesday that Becky Moody riding Jagerbomb is the third combination of its equestrian dressage team in Paris. Andrew Gould and Indigro will travel to Versailles with the squad as an alternate combination.5
  • Meanwhile, the Paris Games will mark a farewell to the equestrian element in modern pentathlon — the event was cut from the 2028 Los Angeles Games following a scandal at the Tokyo Games when a German coach punched a horse.6

Sources: 1BBC News, 2Independent, 3Horse & Hound, 4Daily Mail, 5British Equestrian and 6ABC News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. As the Paris Games are about to kick off, a scandal of such magnitude further underscores the need for all equestrian events to be ditched from the Olympics. It's utterly unacceptable that the International Olympic Committee still allows horses to be abused and forced to participate in these competitions.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Telegraph. This incident is undoubtedly shocking, mainly because Dujardin was considered a role model trainer, but there's no reason to tarnish the entire sport's credibility when someone makes a major mistake. The equestrian community has long sought to ensure that horses are treated with kindness and respect, with their welfare as the highest priority.
  • Nerd narrative, as provided by Horse & Hound. There's a 49% chance that the use of whips will be banned on or before the 2026 Melbourne Cup thoroughbred horse race, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Predictions