Team GB equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin has lost the chance to become a dame. A video showed her whipping a horse 24 times during a private coaching session, according to official sources.
Dujardin was expected to be honored if she won another dressage medal in Paris. This would have given her seven medals, matching Jason Kenny’s record for a British Olympian. However, sources from the government confirmed she will not receive this honor, as reported by The Guardian.
Charlotte Dujardin’s career is now in ruins. She has been expelled from the Olympics and suspended for six months. In addition, UK Sport stopped funding her lottery after the video of her whipping the horse was made public.
UK Sport expressed serious concerns about the welfare of the horse and Dujardin’s actions. They emphasized that everyone in Olympic and Paralympic sports must maintain high standards of behavior, ethics, and integrity.
Dujardin dropped as an ambassador for the horse welfare charity Brooke
Charlotte Dujardin has also lost her role as an ambassador for the horse welfare charity, Brooke. The charity was deeply upset by the video showing her repeatedly striking a horse during a coaching session with a young rider at a private stable several years ago.
Brooke emphasized that their mission is based on kindness and compassion towards horses. They found it extremely disappointing to see such behavior from someone so well-known. The charity stressed that there is never any excuse for mistreating animals.
Team GB's three-time Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin WITHDRAWS from Paris Olympic Games over video emerges showing her making an 'error of judgement' in a coaching session, by allegedly whipping a horse on the legs repeatedly.
No excuse for animal abuse pic.twitter.com/pTiEdwqfm2
— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) July 23, 2024
It seems unlikely that Charlotte Dujardin will lose her Commander of the British Empire (CBE) recognition. The honors committee plans to wait for the results of an investigation by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports before deciding whether to begin their own review.
A source mentioned that it is very difficult to strip someone of such an honor. They noted that even Paula Vennells, the former Post Office chief, chose to return her CBE rather than have it taken away, according to The Guardian.
This was following one of the greatest scandals in UK history. Over 900 post office workers were wrongly convicted of theft due to incorrect data provided by Horizon, a computer system.
PETA demands to ban equestrian events from the Olympics
The video that led to Charlotte Dujardin, three-time gold medalist out of the Paris Olympics, has also prompted the animal rights group PETA to renew its calls for banning all equestrian events from the Olympics.
PETA’s US senior vice-president, Kathy Guillermo, emphasized that the International Olympic Committee should now clearly understand the need to remove equestrian events from the Olympic Games.
Guillermo said that once again, an Olympic rider has been recorded abusing a horse to make it behave unnaturally for personal glory.
She stressed that horses do not volunteer for such treatment. They only endure violence and coercion. Guillermo called for the Olympics to adapt to modern values and remove equestrian events from the Games.
