5 Dec 2024
Sanctions for breaches of welfare standards must be applied regardless of who is responsible for them to maintain public confidence, a senior vet has said.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Charlotte Dujardin. Image © Equestrian, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
A senior vet has welcomed the ban imposed on a former Olympic champion as a means of maintaining “trust” in the management of equestrian sports.
Welfare officials and sport administrators have also warned participants to maintain ethical standards after the one-year suspension of Charlotte Dujardin was confirmed today (5 December).
The three-time Olympic dressage gold medallist was punished after she admitted the abuse of a horse in relation to a video that was widely shared shortly before this summer’s Paris games.
A disciplinary report from Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) said more than 20 separate hits were counted in the footage and her actions had “clearly” amounted to excessive usage.
BEVA veterinary projects officer Lucy Grieve said this afternoon: “For there to be trust in the systems which govern equestrian sports, there must be consequences for anyone who treats a horse inappropriately regardless of the intent, context, or who they are.
“British Dressage and the British Equestrian have supported that FEI imposed sanctions on Charlotte Dujardin and that is nothing less than the horse industry and the wider world should expect.”
Ms Dujardin will be able to compete again from next summer after the ban was backdated to the time of her provisional suspension in July.
But British Dressage chief executive Jason Brautigam said the case had demonstrated the sport’s disciplinary procedures work “regardless of the status of the individual concerned”.
His British Equestrian counterpart, Jim Eyre, added: “The welfare and ethical treatment of horses has always been a priority, and no one involved in our sport should be in any doubt that we expect the highest standards at all times.”
The affair also led to Ms Dujardin being axed from her ambassadorial role with the equine charity Brooke, which described her actions as “beyond disappointing” in the wake of the ban announcement.
A spokesperson said it understood the FEI’s actions, adding: “There can never be any justification for the mistreatment of animals and clearly any such behaviour is incompatible with representing an animal welfare charity.”
Meanwhile World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said there were lessons for all stakeholders from the case.
He said: “What we all need to take away from this sad episode is that how we train our horses must be ethical – which in practice means respecting our horses and how they learn, using techniques that the horse understands, that reward and do not cause fear or distress.”
