PARIS − The whistleblower who released a video that depicts Charlotte Dujardin, a British dressage Olympian, inappropriately whipping a horse at the legs during training, ‘does not feel like a hero,’ according to her attorney, Stephan Wensing.
The video, obtained by the BBC, prompted Dujardin’s provisional suspension by the International Equestrian Federation, and withdrawn support from two of her sponsors. Per Wensing, his client believes abuse is widespread in dressage.
‘It’s not fun to ruin a career. She’s not celebrating; she doesn’t feel like a hero,’ Wensing said, per BBC Sport. ‘But she told me this morning this had to be done because she wants to save dressage.’
Dujardin said the video is several years old. She withdrew from the Paris Games Tuesday amid backlash, and expressed regret in a statement.
‘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,’ Dujardin’s statement read.
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Per the BBC, Denmark reserve rider Carina Cassoe Kruth was replaced for the Paris Games earlier this month, also following the release of a controversial training video.
Who is Charlotte Dujardin?
Dujardin, 39, has won six Olympic medals as Britain’s famed dressage rider, including two golds in 2012 and another gold in 2016. Along with cyclist Laura Kenny, she holds the most Olympic medals of any British female athlete ever.
What is dressage?
Dressage is an equestrian discipline in which horse and rider perform from memory. The word dressage comes from the French, meaning ‘training.’ The most recent Olympic dressage medalist from the United States came in the team competition by the trio of Sabine Schut-Kery, Adrienne Lyle and Steffen Peters, with a silver in 2021 at the Tokyo Games delayed by the pandemic.
