Referring to a video of a coaching session, Ms Dujardin said what happened was “completely out of character” and “does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils”.
Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian, Charlotte Dujardin, has pulled out of the Paris Games after a video emerged of her allegedly whipping a horse repeatedly.
The dressage rider, who has won six Olympic medals, including two golds at London 2012 and a third at Rio 2016, had been set to compete in both the individual and team events in France.
But she has now withdrawn from this summer’s games, which start on Friday, saying the footage “from four years ago… shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session”.
The world governing body – the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) – said she had been provisionally suspended for six months, following an official complaint to the organisation.
The whistleblower’s lawyer Stephan Wensing told The Telegraph that while giving a lesson to a student, Ms Dujardin “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”.
British Equestrian (BEF) and British Dressage (BD) referred to “allegations of animal welfare misconduct” which the FEI “will now fully investigate”.
Both the BEF and BD have also imposed a provisional suspension on Ms Dujardin from all national and international competitions pending the outcome of the FEI investigation.
Referring to the video, the Team GB athlete, 39, said what happened was “completely out of character” and “does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils”.
Ms Dujardin said she will “withdraw from all competition – including the Paris Olympics – while this process takes place”.
In her Instagram statement, she wrote: “A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session.”
She continued: “What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
Ms Dujardin, who also won two golds at the World Equestrian Games in 2014 in Normandy, said she was “devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors”.
Rider will ‘co-operate fully’ with investigations
“I will co-operate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete,” she went on.
British Equestrian chief executive Jim Eyre said: “As the guardians of equestrian sport, we must uphold the highest standards of equine welfare – the horse’s wellbeing is paramount.
“The allegations made are serious and the consequences far reaching.”
At the London 2012 Olympics, Ms Dujardin won golds in the individual and team dressage, while in Rio in 2016, she took gold in the individual competition and silver in the team event.
Three years ago, at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, she claimed bronzes in both the team and individual competitions.
Ms Dujardin’s six medals make her Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian of all time, tied with retired cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.