Charlotte Dujardin’s mentor and teammate Carl Hurst signed a letter “universally condemning” her mistreatment of horses and supporting the decision to ban her from racing for six months.
Hester, who will compete in her seventh Paris Olympics next week, is one of 10 board members of the International Dressage Riders Club and signed after a video of Dujardin whipping a horse 24 times in one minute was released got this letter.
The letter states: “Members of the International Dressage Riders Club (IDRC) board of directors have universally condemned the actions of Charlotte Dujardin, as shown in the video footage released by European Equestrian Law Firm Stephen Winsing on behalf of his client. .
The letter added: “Board members firmly believe that horse welfare must always come first.”
The fact that Hester co-signed this letter is particularly significant because not only did he assist Dujardin in the early stages of her career, but she also trained in his yard. Hester, 57, also bought Dujardin’s horse Valegro for £4,000, which she subsequently rode to win gold medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
The letter added that riders should promote “only ethical training methods and practices” – and encouraged them to adhere to the FEI’s Horse Welfare Code of Conduct and all supporting FEI regulations. Protecting horse welfare standards.
“The IDRC Board supports the action taken by the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage to temporarily suspend Ms Dujardin,” it added. “The report states that Ms. Dujardin stated that she did not justify her actions and expressed her shame and regret.”
Dujardin now finds her career in shambles after being kicked out of the Olympics and suspended for six months. To make matters worse, Sport England suspended lottery funding for her after footage emerged of her crashing a horse.
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Dujardin admitted in a statement released on Tuesday that there was “no excuse” for her actions and that she was “deeply ashamed” of her error in judgment.
“What happened was completely out of character for me and does not reflect how I train my horses or mentor my students, but there is no excuse,” she said. “I’m deeply ashamed and should have set a better example at the time.”
