Do Equestrian Sports Have a Place at the Modern Olympic Games?

“Remove equestrian events from the Olympic Games.”

The statement from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a United States-based animal rights group, did not pull any punches.

“Horses don’t volunteer — they can only submit to violence and coercion. It’s time for the Olympics to move into the modern era.”

This was after a video emerged, two days before the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony, of Great Britain’s three-time dressage gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin “excessively” whipping a horse during a coaching session four years ago.

Charlotte Dujardin, Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian, has been provisionally suspended & will not compete at Paris 2024.

This video has emerged of the dressage star which she said showed her ‘making an error of judgement’. pic.twitter.com/PQ9rPQTD04

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 24, 2024

Dujardin announced her withdrawal from all competitions — including the Paris Games — while under investigation by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), who later confirmed she had been provisionally banned for six months.

The sport has since come under intense scrutiny and the question being asked is: do equestrian sports have a place at the modern Olympic Games?

While animal rights activists believe there should be a blanket ban on all horse sports, others in the Olympic industry believe their place as a sport at the Games is not under “immediate threat” and would be surprised if they were dropped. They did, however, describe the Dujardin scandal as a “wake-up call” and underlined how the equestrian world should not be complacent.

What has the reaction been within the sport?

The video of Dujardin was a huge shock to her long-time team-mate and mentor Carl Hester, whose Gloucestershire yard is where Dujardin trains.

“It’s difficult, of course it is,” said the Olympian, who signed a statement from the board members of the International Dressage Riders Club last week that “universally condemned” Dujardin’s actions.

Hester, who said the incident did not take place at his yard, is competing in the dressage competition in Paris. “I have known her for 17 years. She’s a mum, she has a small child. She has paid very heavily in a way that you wouldn’t believe.

“That video is fairly obvious and nobody is going to support that. You can’t (support it). But over 17 years, I have not seen that, that is not her.”

In her statement, Dujardin apologised in what she described as an “error of judgment” and said she was “deeply ashamed and should have set a better example”.

“She obviously accepts what she did, which she had to do and I am glad she has done that, for her,” added Hester. “This is four years ago, people do make mistakes — what do we do, never forgive people for all the things that have happened?

“It’s going to be a long road for her and a lesson for everybody in the horse world. We have to put horses first and show that.”

The shockwaves rippled throughout the equestrian world, according to Tom McEwen, who won gold for Team GB in the team eventing alongside Laura Collett and Ros Canter this week.

“I didn’t like the look of it and I didn’t like to see her persisting with the use of the whip,” Mary King, who won three Olympic medals in eventing with Team GB, tells The Athletic. “The length of time she did it was wrong.” King also added the timing of the video’s release to stop Dujardin competing at the Olympics was “horrible”.

“We all know it needs to change if this is out there,” said Hester. “We are going to have to do that but as we have seen from the last few days of sport here (in Paris), we’ve seen the care, the grooms who work incredibly hard, how they love and look after the horses and I hope that starts to show how that works.”

Is this an isolated incident or a wider problem?

PETA’s vice president, Kathy Guillermo, was “horrified” but “not surprised” by the video, explaining the group frequently receives whistleblower videos from grassroots to professional riders in each discipline: dressage, showjumping and eventing. “It’s become so commonplace that I’m surprised when somebody isn’t abusing a horse,” she says. “That sounds harsh, but it is more common than not.”

According to Guillermo, the volume of evidence PETA receives shows dressage is the most “problematic” of equestrian events. “Dressage is not natural to a horse. It started out to be the training of a horse to use their balance and physical attributes in a normal way, and it grew into something very distorted.”

King refutes that dressage has overstepped the mark. “A rider can only produce a horse to what they are capable of doing,” she says.

But the issue goes beyond dressage. PETA also wrote to the FEI calling for the elimination of Brazilian event rider Carlos Parro after photographs showed him allegedly performing “hyperflexion of the horse’s neck so severe that it appears deformed”, a practice known as rollkur that violates FEI rules. The FEI issued a warning for causing “unnecessary discomfort to a horse” but allowed Parro to compete.

One of the photos of Parro that PETA submitted to FEI (PETA)

Austria showjumper Max Kuehner is also facing a charge in Germany for committing an offence in May 2023 against the Animal Welfare Act for “poling” or “rapping”, a technique whereby the horse’s legs are hit with a pole as they go over the jump to make it think it hit the fence, so the animal will pick his legs up higher the next time. The Munich court will not provide more information on the matter until September 2024 and the FEI told The Athletic it will await the procedure’s outcome.

In April 2024, the European Equestrian Federation surveyed more than 9,000 people, the majority of whom were European national-level riders, and revealed that 90 per cent of participants, from grassroots to international level, had witnessed instances of poor horse welfare at home, and more than half of those instances had occurred in the past six months. The survey also reported comments focused on dressage and the sentiment that judging rules and standards are affecting training methods.

Yet the FEI president Ingmar De Vos told the BBC: “You need to put it (Dujardin’s case) into context. We have many riders, athletes and horses and it’s a very low percentage. But every case is a case too much. We need to constantly educate our athletes because what was allowed 30 years ago is not allowed today. We want people to speak up because we as the FEI, the guardian of our sport and horses, need to work with our community to make our sport better.”

The chief executive of global equine charity World Horse Welfare, Roly Owers, does not believe the issue is “systemic” but it does go beyond the incident with Dujardin.

“There is a real challenge,” he says. “This case needs to be treated as another real wake-up call. If horse sport is to have a future, it has to show at all times, both on the competition field and at home, that the horse is the key stakeholder. Their welfare is the number one priority and sadly, that wasn’t the case here (referring to the Dujardin video).

“There’s a huge difference between considering a whip as almost an extension of the arm, where you’re using it as an aid, either tickling or tapping, allowing the horse time to respond, and using the whip as a weapon to strike where the horse will not only not understand, but as you saw in that video, will get frightened as well.”

From his six-month stint in the equestrian world as former interim chair of British Equestrian, Ed Warner noted certain attitudes in the sport needed modernisation, including horse welfare.

“Most owners, riders, coaches are clearly completely devoted to the welfare of their horses,” says Warner, writer of Sport Inc and a former UK Athletics chair. “As in many sports, there are some bad apples, rotten apples, or just people with outdated views at the margin that let the sport down. I found it to be a rather closed world. It would do no harm shining a brighter spotlight onto it for the good of the sport.”

King maintains that mistreatment of horses is not commonplace and they are treated like “kings and queens” to help them perform at their best. Benefiting from nutritionists and physiotherapists, top-level horses “live a life of luxury,” she says.

“This cruelty isn’t involved in what we do. The better they are cared for, the better they’re going to go to competition. We all absolutely adore our horses. We’re training them to trust us.

“There are times when, like bringing up children, they need to know black and white, what’s right and wrong, for them to progress happily and confidently.”

King on Imperial Cavalier at the 2012 London Olympics (John Macdougall/AFP/GettyImages)

King adds total trust between human and animal is essential to a successful partnership — and that takes time. “They’re much bigger and stronger than we are,” she says. “If they don’t want to do something, they won’t. There’s not much we can do about it.”

But PETA’s Guillermo, who used to compete in equestrian events as a teenager and played polo, disagrees. “That’s a nice fantasy, the idea that because somebody knows a horse, that horse is working hard for them. It is equally true a horse will work hard when coerced into doing so, when treated violently to do so, as we have seen with Dujardin.”

The status of equestrianism as an Olympic sport

PETA is steadfast in its approach to banning horse sports from the Olympics and Paralympics (the latter only includes dressage).

“I don’t think they’re going to last much longer,” says Guillermo. “Too much of the truth is coming out. The history of the use of horses in the Olympic Games is rife with scandal. It’s just that most of it didn’t make the headlines.

“There have been drugging issues, issues with injuries, horses whose tongues have been tied down into their mouths to keep the tongues from coming above the bit.

“The Olympics are going to modernise and realise that this kind of abuse scandal is not worth it and that it really has no place in the modern world.”

At the 2028 Olympics, obstacle course racing will replace showjumping as one of the disciplines of the modern pentathlon after a German coach was seen striking a horse at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. However, comparing that part of modern pentathlon to the designated dressage, eventing or showjumping events is like comparing apples and oranges — in the multi-event version, it is a lottery which horse is assigned to which rider and there is no opportunity for a partnership to be formed.

Saint Boy, the horse struck by a coach in Tokyo. Rider Annika Schleu faced criticism for her repeated whip use (Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Such a precedent is concerning for those involved in equestrianism, which first featured at the Games in 1900 and has been included in every edition since 1912, but Owers believes the sport shows the “ultimate benefit of the horse-human relationship working in harmony”, which he says should be cherished and presented on the world stage.

Its historical place at the Olympics, too, should not be disregarded. “It would be wrong to downgrade the importance of heritage in the roster of Olympic sports,” says Warner, now chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby, who also notes equestrian events’ relatively strong popularity with the global television audience.

“They’re not the most popular sports, but they are far from the least popular either,” he says.

There is a royal element at play too. Members of the Dutch, Spanish, Jordanian and British royal families have been FEI presidents over the years, including Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne. The Princess Royal competed at the 1976 Olympics in team eventing and presented the medals to the eventers on Monday. Her daughter, Zara Phillips, won Olympic silver in the same event at London 2012.

But as well as the pressing issue of horse welfare, King, along with others, raises the concern of the high financial costs of hosting equestrian events at an Olympics, given horses need to be flown around the world, not to mention the facilities required.

What factors are considered when dropping or reintroducing sports?

Beyond the traditional Olympic sports, such as cycling, swimming, athletics, gymnastics and rowing, every event is fighting to keep its spot, according to Warner.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been challenged over recent years by the decrease in the number of cities willing to host the Olympic Games, given the ever-increasing number of athletes and participating sports.

It constantly reviews the sports programme and looks for a mix of the traditional and the new to remain relevant to today’s youth. In Paris, there has been the addition of breaking and the return of skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing from Tokyo. The 2028 Games will feature flag football and squash for the first time, as well as the return of baseball, softball, cricket and lacrosse.

At the end of each Games, the IOC looks at a Rubik’s Cube of factors for all sports: ticket sales, broadcast views, the sport’s success between games, the world championship of a non-Olympic sport, the appeal to a young and global audience. As you can imagine, it gets highly political.

Many sports have come under pressure for different reasons. Modern pentathlon was on the cusp of being dropped from the 2028 Olympic programme, and the inclusion of boxing is yet to be confirmed because of governance issues.

Will equestrian events be at the 2028 Olympics?

The IOC works one Games in advance so the sports programme for the 2028 Olympics has already been locked in, including equestrian events. But it has the power to remove any event if it wishes and will review formats and quotas after Paris.

Simon Clegg, former CEO of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and a former Team GB chef de mission, warns against a “knee-jerk reaction” to the incident with Dujardin, and would be very surprised if the IOC dropped an individual discipline, such as dressage, or an entire sport. Instead, he encourages the FEI to investigate the case properly and let due process take its course. It will be up to the IOC if it wants to follow through on horse welfare issues.

Warner does not believe equestrian events are under any “immediate threat” but thinks those involved in the sport cannot get complacent.

“The IOC is acutely conscious of its reputation and how any mistreatment of horses will look to the wider public that doesn’t understand horse sport and just watches it every four years when the Olympics comes around,” he says.

The key for Warner is for the sport not to lose perspective of how it might appear from the outside and ensure the highest standards of horse welfare are delivered.

“If that can be done, and if the FEI is suitably hard on those that transgress, it’ll be fine,” Warner says. “The initial suspension for Dujardin shows meaningful intent. The onus is on the FEI to ensure it doesn’t think that out of sight means out of mind when it comes to finalising the case.”

Where does the sport go from here?

“Any horse abuse case is unacceptable and will always be acted upon by the FEI,” a spokesperson for the international governing body told The Athletic.

“The FEI has a robust legal system to sanction those that violate the rules and seek to abuse their horses. The IOC has full trust in the FEI and also has confidence we will address these cases properly.”

They also have a new action plan for equine welfare strategy, comprising six priority areas that include training, riding and recognising physical and emotional stress.

The challenge equestrianism faces, according to Owers of World Horse Welfare, is showing the public that “equine welfare is the priority above any competitive or commercial influence”.

Owers and Warner believe it is about building a culture where people call out malpractice to bring about change. Just like any other sport, it is unrealistic for a governing body to attend every individual training session and often riders will have their horses on their private yard.

Education — from top riders to grassroots — awareness of issues, competition stewards and active bystanders all play a role. King advocates for quality trainers to be more accessible to young riders to enhance their education.

“Be very clear about what is an acceptable training method and what is not,” Owers says. “That has to come very, very quickly.”

PETA, however, calls for a more objective stewarding approach.

“The FEI needs a person present with deep experience in equine medicine and animal welfare who is not involved in these sports. The coaches and the veterinarians are so wrapped up in this world that what is clearly abuse to others ceases to look like abuse to them. We need an observer who understands horses and abuse who is not part of that world.”

Owers also suggests the implementation of an anonymous reporting framework across all levels from the FEI to riding schools. The survey mentioned earlier found that 60 per cent of respondents did not know who to contact if they wanted to report a horse welfare issue, and grooms at private yards were in a vulnerable position if they raised reports against their employer.

“The regulators have got a role to play, but it starts with the individual rider,” he says. “If we don’t place equine welfare at the centre of horse sport, then it has no place on the international stage.

“But you place it at the centre and we believe it has a wonderful example of the horse-human relationship which has been going on for millennia.

“But it’s got to earn that right.”

(Top photos: Getty Images/Design: Dan Goldfarb)