Dujardin wrote: “What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or train my students.” “However, there is no excuse. I was very embarrassed and should have set a better example at that time.
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) received a video of Dujardin’s alleged horse attack on Monday, the FEI said in a statement. The federation gave Dujardin a deadline of 5 pm on Tuesday to respond to the video. Dujardin admitted it was her and released her statement before any concerns were made public. She has been banned from competing until the FEI completes its investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by this, especially as we approach the Olympic Games in Paris 2024,” said FEI President Ingmar de Vos. “However, it is our responsibility and imperative to address any situation of abuse, as it cannot compromise the security of equality.”
What happened remained unclear for several hours Tuesday night. Dujardin did not provide any details about the content of the video. Shortly after Dujardin posted her statement, a British press officer said the Olympic governing body did not know what the video showed.
Dujardin, 39, rose to fame in England after winning two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics riding her horse Valegro. Her hometown of Enfield had a gold post box installed in her honour. After retiring from Valegro at age 14, she won two bronze medals in Tokyo on a horse named Gio.
Allegations of animal abuse have marred other Olympic equestrian events. At the Tokyo Games, Germany’s modern pentathlon coach Kim Reisner showed a video of him kicking a horse. Dujardin isn’t the first dressage competitor to lose an Olympic spot this month: Karina Casso Krut was kicked off the Danish dressage team earlier this month after an old video of her abusing a horse surfaced.