The FEI confirmed it had footage showing her “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare - during a training session conducted at Ms Durjardin’s private stable”.
Authorities declined to comment on the detail of the video involved, but, in an interview with The Telegraph, the whistleblower’s lawyer, Stephan Wensing, said Dujardin’s actions were “really harsh”.
“My client used to be a sponsor, and she was in the UK, and she sponsored a lesson for Charlotte to a student,” he explained. “It was a young girl of 19 years old riding her horse, and she got a lesson from Charlotte Dujardin in the UK.
“Charlotte Dujardin was in the middle of the arena. She said to the student, ‘your horse must lift up the legs more in the canter’. She took the long whip and she was beating the horse more than 24 times in one minute and really hard, really harsh, really tough.”
He added it was like “an elephant in the circus”.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” the lawyer said. “It has no goal. It is unbelievable. At that time, my client was thinking this must be normal. She is an Olympic winner. Who am I to doubt? My client asked around and was warned against speaking out in the UK. But last year my client saw others suspended in the UK and elsewhere.”
Over the weekend, he added, “she eventually made a decision to let me admit the complaint to the FEI”, who “took this immediately very seriously”.
Dujardin has not commented specifically on the contents of the video but said the incident took place four years ago. Wensing said the incident took place in 2022.
There was an immediate sense of despair across the sport on Tuesday that one of its most famous names had been tainted by animal welfare allegations. The technique of the ‘piaffe’ – the slow-motion trot – dates back to the Renaissance. Those teaching the piaffe generally do so by tapping the horse very lightly, just to encourage it to lift its legs.
Telegraph Sport had reported earlier how footage showed her apparently hitting out at a horse during a slow-motion trot.
Dujardin posted on social media that she has pulled out of all competition while the FEI investigates the incident. The announcement has sent shock waves through the Team GB camp, with senior officials caught unawares by the announcement.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils,” she said in a statement. “However, there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
The equestrian world is understood to be on high alert over public perception around animal welfare at the Games. There is a special officer in Paris overseeing welfare, Telegraph Sport has been told.
Sources claim the video was taken during an “educational day” Dujardin had been involved in.
‘Someone has waited till a key moment to leak it’
“She is hitting a horse repeatedly on the legs as they try to get it to do a better ‘piaffe’ - the slow-motion trot,” the insider said. “Someone else is riding the horse.
“The FEI is on high alert about public perception, with its new mantra to make riders guardians of their horses and the unprecedented appointment, announced two days ago, of a special official in Paris to ensure the horse welfare rules are adhered to.
“It seems – as so often happens – that a video clip has been around for some while, but someone has waited till a key moment like this to leak it.”
The FEI’s horse abuse provisions are dealt with under article 142 of its regulations and allow for the rider to be disciplined even when the incident happened out of competition.
Rumours that a damning video existed were spreading among equestrian insiders prior to the announcement. Susan Wachowich, of Dressage Hub, posted a video on Facebook claiming authorities had been called in.
A top US dressage rider, Cesar Parra, is currently provisionally suspended by the FEI over horse welfare issues.
Sir Mark Todd was also caught up in a controversy two years ago over a video of him hitting a horse 10 times with a branch.
Dujardin needed a medal of any colour to take her clear of former cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, with whom she is currently tied on six medals in the British all-time medal table for women.
