Paris Olympics: Charlotte Dujardin Horrors Continue as Danish Team Falters Over Horse Mistreatment Allegations

They say it takes seven years to prepare a horse for a dressage competition and another three to four to make him sharp enough to compete at the Olympics. But they keep mum on the pain the horse has experienced in all these years. Organizations like PETA have raised their voices about the malpractices behind dressage competitions and training routines. Still, cases like Charlotte Dujardin physically abusing an equine in training keep coming back. Allegedly, several Danish equestrian athletes at the Paris Olympics have repeated the same offense.

The bone of contention is that the authorities have yet to take note. However, in Charlotte Dujardin’s case, the FEI was quick enough to ban the British equestrian athlete. Then what is holding the stakeholders back now from taking the right call?

The Danish equestrian team fails to avoid the burning issues 

Till now, at the Paris Olympics, the Danish equestrian team has walked on a shiny road. In the team dressage, Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Daniel Bachmann Andersen came down, especially with their horses, Zepter and Varyon, who kept the national team ahead.

Ultimately, that synchronized tuning led Denmark to grab the silver medal in the team dressage event. But a shockwave pierced through later as a Danish media outlet, Ekstra Bladet, confirmed that both the equines had marks of mistreatment that could be the result of the final event. And that’s not even the end of the incident.

According to Ekstra Bladet, it tried to catch both riders after the issue had arisen. But Nanna Skodborg Merrald only claimed, “I keep my focus on what I can do to perform as well as possible.” Subsequently, when she was asked about the well-being of her horse, she tried to repeat the same statement. However, in countering Daniel Bachmann Andersen, the Danish publication hit rock bottom.

The 34-year-old had almost the same answer ready during the event. He kept mumbling, “I don’t relate to them when we are down here. We are at the Olympics and that is what we are focusing on.” Yet the team leader, Anne Mette Binder, tried to throw the team’s weight behind these two.

However, one expert had a different opinion and pointed how the use of a tight noseband results in a blue tongue as opposed to pink—a clear indication of issues inside the horse’s mouth. It was also reported how riders have since started using tighter nosebands, avoiding horses to open their mouth, thus avoiding scrutiny.

On the question of Nanna’s handling of the issue, she said, “We are here for the sport. Nanna – like all the others – looks after her horse really well.” Well, it seems, the alleged offense is highly unlikely to be addressed by the primary stakeholders, let alone the IOC and FEI. But this is not the first time the Danish equestrian team has come under the scanner.

Charlotte Dujardin-esque behavior has become commonplace 

The FEI handed Dujardin a six-month ban after a four-year-old clip showed her engaging in an offense with an equine. FEI called the British Olympian “making an error of judgment.” She whipped the equine 24 times, as the eyewitnesses claimed. Yet, there are several other riders who continue to commit almost similar offenses.

Last month, PETA revealed shocking details exposing six nations partaking in incessant abuse of horses. Accusing Denmark, the USA, Austria, Brazil, Italy and the UK, the organization demanded, “How did such grotesque violations of the rules become so commonplace—and at the highest levels? What are the judges doing, scrolling through their cell phones? The only answer now is for the International Olympic Committee to ban equestrian events from the Olympic Games.”

Austrian rider Max Kühner was accused of practicing a forbidden technique called, ‘barring’, that involves striking a horse’s shin. However, he was later fined for the act. Notably, Italian rider Emiliano Portale was also eliminated from the Olympics after his horse was found bleeding from its mouth.

Last year, Rebekka Klubien, an undercover reporter, released a clip where Danish dressage rider and horse dealer Andreas Helgstrand could be seen inflicting abusive training practices on the equines. The whip marks remained standing-proof.

However, the Danish Riding Instructor Association, or Dansk Ride-Instruktør Forening (DRIF), barred him from competing at the Paris Olympics. Still, Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Daniel Bachmann Andersen have not received any similar calls yet. Rather, there’s no report of further investigation either. Truly, the repetitive occurrences of such problems are becoming worrisome.

Do you think all the riders repeating similar unacceptable acts with their equines should face the same fate as Charlotte Dujardin? Let us know in the comments below.