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Update (July 26, 2024): Another day, another instance of horse abuse by an Olympic rider. PETA has obtained photos of what appears to be a Brazilian Olympic equestrian team member forcing a horseâs neck into an extremely painful hyperflexed position so exaggerated that the neck appears deformed. The banned training method, known as ârollkur,â compromises breathing and can damage the spine and lead to long-term health issues. PETA has sent an urgent complaint to the International Equestrian Federation demanding that the rider be eliminated from competition and that the abused horse undergo a thorough veterinary examination.
This latest horrific incident adds to the growing pile of evidence that equestrian âsportsâ have no place in the Olympics. Take action below by urging the International Olympic Committee to ban them.
Original text:
Yet again, an Olympic rider has been caught abusing a horse to force the animal to behave in an entirely unnatural way, simply for her own glory. A horrific video has surfaced showing British Olympic equestrian team member Charlotte Dujardin repeatedly whipping a horseâs legs âin the manner of âold-style abuse of elephants at the circusââ during a training session. Dujardin, who flippantly referred to the abuse she inflicted on the horse as âan error of judgment,â was kicked out of the Paris Olympic Games.
It seems as though this âsportâ is chock-full of humans who commit âerrors of judgement.â
Take a look at these incidentsâand PETAâs viral video, viewed nearly 1 million timesâfrom the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics:
A German pentathlon competitor was riding a frightened horse named Saint Boy when she was filmed whipping him during the competition after he refused to enter the course. As the riderâs frustration increased, her coach, Kim Raisner, was shown hitting the clearly startled Saint Boy. After the incident, Raisner was rightfully expelled from the Olympics.
Jet Set appeared to be injured in the middle of a cross-country course during the 2020 Olympic Games. Veterinarians diagnosed the injury as an irreparable ligament rupture in one of his legs, and he was euthanized.
During another show-jumping event at the same Olympic Games, blood poured from Kilkennyâs nose but Irish rider Cian OâConnor forced the horse to finish the course. Nothing was done by officials to stop the competition to check on him.
Abuse seems to be pervasive at lower levels of the sport, too. In 2021, show jumper Kevin Lemke aggressively and repeatedly hit a horse named Good Luck at an event in California. We reported the incident, and Lemke was suspended.
After hearing from PETA and following a complaint from PETA Germany, the international governing body of the modern pentathlon announced that horseback riding will be replaced with obstacle course racing. Thatâs a start.
But hereâs the bottom line: Horses donât volunteer to competeâtheyâre compelled to submit to violence and coercion.
Please call on the International Olympic Committee to remove all equestrian events immediately and leave the Olympics to the willing participants.