Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side

Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight

Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain riding Valegro celebrates with her gold medal during the medal ceremony following the Individual Dressage of the London 2012 Olympic Games
Charlotte Dujardin rode Valegro to gold-medal victory at the London 2012 Olympics, and 'charmed the public' with her synergy with the horse
(Image credit: Alex Livesey / Getty Images)

Britain's foremost horsewoman had hoped to become the nation's most decorated female Olympian at this year's Paris Games. 

But three-time gold medallist and dressage star Charlotte Dujardin instead pulled out of the Olympics on Tuesday and was provisionally suspended from the sport pending an investigation, after she was accused of whipping a horse 24 times in one minute. 

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.