Charlotte Dujardin has received a year-long suspension and a fine of £8,880 (CHF10,000) from the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) six months after a video showing the Team GB Olympian whipping her horse’s legs circulated on the eve of the Paris Olympics. 

The three-time gold medallist was provisionally suspended in July shortly after the widely-condemned video went viral, and was unable to compete at the Games this summer. 

As per FEI, disciplinary concludings against her have been ‘effectively concluded’, with Dujardin now unable to compete for the duration of her suspension. 

In a bombshell statement released just days before the start of the competition in Paris, Dujardin shared that she had made ‘an error of judgement’ during a coaching session, which is said to have put an animal’s welfare at risk. 

In the video, which was filmed four years ago, the 39-year-old is seen striking the horse on the legs multiple times during an exercise around a ‘piaffe’ – a slow motion trot. Another rider was on the horse at the time.

The investigation put a halt on Dujardin’s dreams to become the most decorated female Olympian in the UK, after currently tying with British cyclist Laura Kenny who also holds six medals.

WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY 

Charlotte Dujardin has received her punishment from the FEI for whipping her horse in training

The distressing video circulated in July on the eve of the Olympic Games in Paris, forcing her withdrawal from Team GB

Dujardin was described as whipping the horse ‘like an elephant at the circus’ in the video clip

‘Dujardin has been provisionally suspended since 23 July 2024 for engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare,’ a statement from the FEI read. ‘The time served during her provisional suspension will be credited towards the one-year suspension.

‘During her suspension, Dujardin is prohibited from participating in all activities related to competitions or events under the jurisdiction of the FEI or of a National Federation.’

The statement added: ‘Given the gravity of the offence and the relevant mitigating circumstances, including Dujardin’s prior clean disciplinary record and her voluntary withdrawal from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the FEI proposed a one-year suspension and a CHF 10,000 fine.’ 

The governing body’s secretary general Sabrina Ibanez added that the suspension ‘sends a clear message’ about the severity of Dujardin’s actions.  

‘It is regrettable that this case has put our sport in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, especially during a critical time leading up to the Olympic Games,’ she said on Thursday.

‘Yet, despite the challenges, the FEI acted decisively by immediately opening an investigation and imposing a provisional suspension.

‘These significant sanctions send a clear message that anyone, regardless of their profile, who engages in conduct that compromises the welfare of the horse will face serious consequences. We believe this outcome reaffirms the FEI’s commitment to equine welfare and to its role as guardian of our equine partners.’

In the wake of the controversy, Dujardin was dropped from her ambassadorial role at a horse welfare charity

Dujardin was described as repeatedly whipping the horse ‘like an elephant in a circus’ 24 times during the distressing video, which was leaked by a person whose identity continues to be unknown. 

The 39-year-old’s dramatic fall from grace saw her dropped as an ambassador for a horse welfare charity, stripped of UK Sport funding, and removed from consideration for a potential damehood, which Whitehall sources disclosed to Mail Sport. 

During the media firestorm, Dujardin was found to have previously been disqualified from competition in 2019 after blood was found on her horse, Mount St John Freestyle, at the 2019 European Championships. 

Months after the elimination in January 2020, Dujardin said the decision was ‘soul destroying’ but claimed she did not blame the steward who ‘had to do her job’.

‘[…] For everybody there it was a very sad moment and really soul destroying , and obviously that steward felt very emotional about what she had to do. I was always, like, she had to do her job, at the end of the day, that’s what they are there for,’ she said.

‘There was a bit of blood on her side, so she had to eliminate me, I understood the rules, the rules are the rules so she had to do it.’

The equestrian (pictured at the 2016 Rio Olympics) had hoped to become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian this summer

Instead it was Charlotte Fry who won plaudits in Paris for Team GB, with bronze medals in both team and individual dressage events

She added: ‘There was nothing there after. It was a shame, there was a slight mark and with the white tissue, there was a tiny spot of blood, and that’s that.

‘It’s amazing when you read things online and you see how they can make pictures look as if you have done some real damage. There was absolutely nothing, after she was washed and dried, you wouldn’t have even known there was anything there.

‘I rode her the next day and she was fine. She’s clipped now and I can ride her, it was just an absolute freak accident that happened. I can only put my hand up – it was there, the steward did her job and I had to take the consequences, and I did.’

Despite Dujardin’s late withdrawal, Team GB’s equestrians shone in the French capital, with Charlotte Fry helping claim team bronze, and an individual women’s bronze on her horse Glamourdale.