The Charlotte Dujardin whipping video is a disaster for equestrian sports

With just three days to go until the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the equestrian world went into meltdown last night. The first sign of any upset was a statement issued by Team GB equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin: ‘A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session’, she wrote. As a result, Dujardin – who has won six Olympic medals – has withdrawn from all competitions, including the Paris games, until the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) complete their investigation.

The video shows Dujardin during a coaching session for a horse and rider, in which she repeatedly hits the animal on the back of the legs with a lunging whip. Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Dutch lawyer Stephan Wensing, who is acting for the whistleblower who shared the video, said the footage has been made public after the unnamed rider looked back on the incident and thought: ‘This is not OK, this is animal abuse.’