DOUBLE Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin has been suspended for one year after a shocking video emerged of her whipping a horse.
The controversy saw her withdraw from the Paris Games and the International Federation for Equestrian Sports has now announced her ban.
Charlotte Dujardin has been suspended
Footage of the dressage rider beating a horse with a whip caused her to pull out of the Paris Olympics
Britain’s greatest horsewoman quit the Paris Olympics in disgrace this summer after a video emerged that showed her beating a horse 25 times on its legs with a long whip.
The video was passed to the FEI, the governing body of horse sports including dressage.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist said she was “deeply ashamed” by her “error of judgement” in a coaching session at a private stable – and she has been provisionally banned from the sport for six months.
Had she won an Olympic medal of any colour, she would have seven on her CV from four Games, which would have overtaken Laura Kenny’s cycling record of six.
The Enfield-born competitor would have been all-but-certain to be handed a Damehood in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.
In July, UK sport announced that her funding had been suspended pending the conclusion of a FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) investigation.
A UK Sport spokesperson previously said: “We expect all staff and athletes in Olympic and Paralympic sport to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour, ethics and integrity.
“We are disturbed by the serious concerns that have been raised in the past 24 hours regarding horse welfare and Charlotte Dujardin.
“Sport national governing bodies are required to notify us when they become aware of any conduct-related issues involving a World Class Programme athlete or member of staff so it can be reviewed under the Funding Eligibility Policy.”
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