Charlotte Dujardin announced her decision to pull out of the Paris Olympics amid a controversy that dates back four years. Great Britain’s most-decorated female Olympian is under investigation by the British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage and will not compete.
The 39-year-old will be replaced by Becky Moody and her horse Jagerbomb.
Dujardin has six medals at the Olympics: two golds in London, a gold and silver in Rio and two bronze in Tokyo. She competes in Equestrian Dressage, which can best be described as the highest form of horse training and asks competitors to perform a series of predetermined movements from memory.
It is unclear was to what Dujardin did to warrant this investigation and subsequent withdrawal. However, a video emerged from 2020 that shows her make what she called “an error of judgement.”
“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.”
— Charlotte Dujardin’s statement
Dujardin’s statement would imply that she mistreated her horse. Multiple reports have hinted at abusive behavior during a training session. The extent of her alleged mistreatment has yet to be seen.
This is not the first time that Dujardin withdrew from competition over an issue surrounding her hourse.
She was disqualified from the European Championships in 2019 after blood was found on her mare’s flank during a dressage test. Under FEI rules, horses must be free of blood on their entire bodies and in their mouths at every point before, after and during competition.
Elimination due to blood does not necessarily imply an intent to injury the horse. The rules are the rules.
As of right now, there is not enough information on the most recent allegations to draw a conclusion between the unreleased video from 2020 and the blood on her horse in 2019. With that being said, the two separate incidents taking place just one year apart certainly raises questions. Are they related?
Charlotte Dujardin dropped out of Paris before the video was made public. It must not be good.