Whistleblower who leaked video of Team GB Olympian whipping horse explains ‘real reason’ they shared it
Warning: This article contains graphic images and video which some readers may find distressing.
The whistleblower who leaked a video of former Team GB Olympian Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse's legs is 'not celebrating', her lawyer said.
On 23 July, Team GB's joint most decorated female athlete released a statement saying she would not be competing at the Olympics and that the video showed her 'making a huge error of judgment'.
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She said she'd fully cooperate with the investigation and would not be competing again until it was over, as well as not making a further statement until then.
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) said they'd received the video on 22 July and provisionally suspended the rider with immediate effect.
The shocking footage which tanked Dujardin's Olympic hopes was broadcast to the public on Good Morning Britain on 24 July.
She has been replaced by Becky Moody and the horse Jagerbomb at the Paris Olympics.
Speaking to the BBC, the anonymous whistleblower's lawyer Stephan Wensing said his client had been conflicted about releasing the footage but felt it 'had to be done'.
He said: "It's not fun to ruin a career. She's not celebrating; she doesn't feel like a hero.
"But she told me this morning this had to be done because she wants to save dressage."
The lawyer also said that the video was not filmed four years ago as Dujardin had said, but instead had happened 'two and a half years ago'.
"She was thinking everything this superstar, the best rider, is doing, must be OK. This must be the way to train horses and how to deal with it," Wensing said of his client's view on the matter, before recounting that she'd been told by others 'don't fight'.
"Charlotte Dujardin was explaining during the lesson that she wanted the horse lifting the legs up more in canter.
"Later on, [the whistleblower] was thinking 'this is not OK'. She had spoken with several people in the profession and they all warned her 'don’t fight'.
"She was really afraid. There was a sort of fear culture and she was also thinking 'when I do something, it will be victim-blaming'."
The lawyer had previously said that his client had made the decision to leak the video as they 'could not bring themselves to allow Dujardin to win medals at the Olympics'.
Wensing said: "It’s unacceptable that dressage sport should be accompanied by animal abuse.
“If top-level sport can only be performed in such a way that the welfare of the horse is compromised, then top-level sport should be abolished.
"Everyone who deals with horses has their own responsibility in this, and this also applies to bystanders who become aware of excesses.
“Equestrian sport must regulate itself and ensure that there can never be a discussion about horse welfare in sport again.
“This is a very important task for the jury members who have lost sight of the core value of dressage for far too long and have overvalued spastic movements of horses.
“It’s extremely sad that one of the most successful riders in the world has to pay the price.
“But this rider has also not taken any responsibility and this cannot go unpunished.
“The federations and in particular the FEI can be expected to take even more adequate action against animal abuse, precisely to ensure the continued existence of equestrian sports.”
Joe Harker