Latest news with #dressage
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Olympic champion Dujardin makes dressage comeback after whipping ban
Former Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin returned to action at the weekend after serving a one-year suspension over a horse-whipping controversy that led to her withdrawal from the Paris Games. The British rider competed at the Hunters Equestrian event in Gloucestershire, in the west of England. Dujardin, who has won six Olympic medals including individual gold in 2012 and 2016, was banned for a year in December by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). But she had been provisionally suspended since July 2024. Dujardin is now free to compete in domestic events and does not need to seek permission from British Equestrian to do so, though she would need to seek its permission to compete internationally. The 40-year-old won in two categories at the Hunters Equestrian on her new horse, Special Effect. Dujardin was provisionally suspended last July after international governing body the FEI launched an investigation into a video showing her repeatedly striking a horse on its legs. The footage, dating back several years, related to a training session at a stable and sparked widespread condemnation. Dujardin, who was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,400), withdrew from the Paris Olympics just days before they started saying she had made an "error of judgement" and expressed deep remorse. She could have become Britain's most decorated woman Olympian in the French capital, where a medal of any colour would have taken her clear of cyclist Laura Kenny, with whom she is tied on six medals. Her two best horses, Imhotep and Times Kismet, have been sold since the scandal broke. Times Kismet was sold to backers of Germany's quadruple Olympic gold medallist Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. jw/pi
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Olympic champion returns to dressage after whipping ban
Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin has returned to competition at the Hunters Equestrian event in Gloucestershire. The weekend competition marked her first appearance since serving a one-year suspension imposed by the FEI. The ban stemmed from a horse whipping controversy that emerged last summer. After video emerged of her striking her horse repeatedly, Dujardin accepted she had made an "error of judgement". Dujardin, who was provisionally suspended from 23 July 2024, won two categories at the event on her new horse, Special Effect. She is now permitted to compete in domestic events without seeking permission from the British Equestrian Federation, but would require it for international competitions.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Charlotte Dujardin made dressage comeback at Gloucestershire event
Former Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin returned to action at the weekend after serving a one-year suspension from the sport. The 40-year-old competed at the Hunters Equestrian event in Gloucestershire, marking her first action since she was banned over a horse whipping controversy which came to light just prior to the start of the Paris Olympics last summer. Dujardin, who has won six Olympic medals including individual gold in 2012 and 2016, had a one-year ban imposed on her by the sport's international federation, the FEI, in December but had been provisionally suspended since July 23 last year. Dujardin is now free to enter and compete in domestic events and does not need to seek permission from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to do so. She would need to seek BEF permission to compete internationally. Dujardin won in two categories at the Hunters Equestrian on her new horse, Special Effect. It is not clear where Dujardin will compete next, but she would need to reach a regional final in order to qualify for September's National Championships in Cheshire. Dujardin was provisionally suspended last July after the FEI launched an investigation into a video showing her whipping a horse during a coaching session. Dujardin accepted she had made 'an error of judgement' and fully accepted the sanction imposed on her. She revealed last December, at the time the FEI imposed the ban, that she had been pregnant at the time the incident came to light.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Charlotte Dujardin made dressage comeback at Gloucestershire event
Former Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin returned to action at the weekend after serving a one-year suspension from the sport. The 40-year-old competed at the Hunters Equestrian event in Gloucestershire, marking her first action since she was banned over a horse whipping controversy which came to light just prior to the start of the Paris Olympics last summer. Dujardin, who has won six Olympic medals including individual gold in 2012 and 2016, had a one-year ban imposed on her by the sport's international federation, the FEI, in December but had been provisionally suspended since July 23 last year. Dujardin is now free to enter and compete in domestic events and does not need to seek permission from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to do so. She would need to seek BEF permission to compete internationally. Dujardin won in two categories at the Hunters Equestrian on her new horse, Special Effect. It is not clear where Dujardin will compete next, but she would need to reach a regional final in order to qualify for September's National Championships in Cheshire. Dujardin was provisionally suspended last July after the FEI launched an investigation into a video showing her whipping a horse during a coaching session. Dujardin accepted she had made 'an error of judgement' and fully accepted the sanction imposed on her. She revealed last December, at the time the FEI imposed the ban, that she had been pregnant at the time the incident came to light.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dujardin free to compete after whipping ban
Three-time Olympic dressage gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin plans to return to competition after serving her one-year ban from the sport. Dujardin, 40, was banned in December by the FEI - the world governing body of equestrian sports - and fined 10,000 Swiss francs (£8,886) for "excessively" whipping a horse. Video footage emerged in July - days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics - of her repeatedly striking the horse with a long whip around its legs. The international ban, also backed by British Equestrian and British Dressage, was backdated to 23 July 2024, when she was provisionally suspended. While BBC Sport understands Dujardin does plan to return to competition, it is not yet known when or where that will be. From Thursday, she can re-apply for British Dressage membership, which will permit her to enter its affiliated competitions. She was ineligible to receive public funding and publicly funded benefits through UK Sport while she served the ban, and she also lost sponsorship deals and ambassadorial roles. A UK Sport spokesperson told BBC Sport it is "in the process of reviewing Charlotte's future eligibility to receive public funds" - the outcome of which will determine if she can return to British Equestrian's World Class Performance Programme. It is understood representatives of Dujardin have spoken with British Equestrian and British Dressage about her return to the sport in recent days. British Dressage confirmed to BBC Sport it is in contact with Dujardin's team, while British Equestrian said it could not discuss its correspondence with athletes. Dujardin is not among the initial eight British entries put to the FEI to compete at August's Dressage European Championships. The final squad - of four rider and horse combinations from those initial eight - will be confirmed by British Equestrian later this month. Why was Dujardin banned? Dujardin had been set to bid for a fourth gold medal at the Paris Olympics. But last July, just before the start of the Games, she released a statement saying she was withdrawing after a video emerged showing her "making an error of judgement". She was later provisionally suspended by the FEI, which said it had received footage showing Dujardin "engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare - during a training session conducted at Ms Dujardin's private stable". The FEI said Dujardin confirmed she was the individual in the video, which was "filmed several years ago" and "requested to be provisionally suspended pending the outcome of the investigations". In announcing her ban in December, the FEI tribunal stated that the video showed Dujardin whipping the horse more than 20 times, mostly from behind on the hind legs, and also in between and from the front on the front legs and shoulders of the horse. It added the footage of the training session did not constitute any other rule violations and that there had not been any further complaints raised against Dujardin's conduct since the video emerged. At the time, she said she fully respected the FEI's verdict and would "forever aim to do better". Who is Dujardin? Dujardin shot to prominence at the London 2012 Olympics on Valegro, winning gold medals in team and individual dressage. The pair picked up individual gold and team silver four years later in Rio. On a different horse, Gio, Dujardin won two bronze medals at the Covid-delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. History beckoned at the Paris Olympics, where a medal of any colour would have made her Britain's outright most decorated female Olympian - a title she shares with former cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, with both having six Olympic medals. She was set to compete on Imhotep, known as Pete - her first horse since Valegro to score more than 90% in international competition. The pair had been unbeaten since the 2023 European Championships. Imhotep has since been sold, as was always planned for after the Games, while Times Kismet, who Dujardin had identified as her next Olympic horse, has also been sold to Germany's Jessica von Bredow-Werndl - who successfully defended her individual dressage title in Paris.
