“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…
