Dressage golden girl Charlotte Dujardin’s harsh fall from grace says a lot about the equestrian community and human nature at large. Olympian Desjardin had a video released of her whipping a horse, apparently 24 times in one minute - as someone in the background laughs.
Keyboard warriors across the globe mounted up for battle. Dujardin was both verbally eviscerated and acerbically defended.
This woman was decorated and revered as one of the world's most cherished and celebrated riders. I would hope she would be training and performing towards ultimate harmony between horse and rider to receive such accolades.
Her actions were egregious, but the most difficult part for me is that they aren’t shocking. I see more shock among non-equestrians, but the horror that comes off of equestrians is familiar and tired.
The viral incident at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics pentathlon where a rider openly whipped and spurred a horse who’d refused to jump, is still a scar on the equestrian world.
Equestrian sports can and have been banned when they don’t uphold their social license. Rodeos have already been banned in parts of Canada. I feel unsettled watching the errors of athletes reflect upon the entire community.
We have all made mistakes, and the relationship between horse and rider is as dynamic as any. No one is a perfect parent, partner, friend, or equestrian. Despite imperfection, there are parts of the equestrian world that are so physically, emotionally, and spiritually enriching that glitter bursts from my chest if I think too deeply about it.
Dressage in its art form should benefit the horse. There are heaps of dressage riders who follow the most moving set of ethics – Charles De Kunffy, Karen Rohlf, Nahshon Cook, Tara Davis, and Tristan Tucker come to mind for me. The discipline isn't the issue.
Actively engaging in radical self-reflection, accountability, and continual betterment, feels like the path to being good stewards of the horse, and upholding a standard for equestrians that won’t make the world cringe.
Being in an area that is rich with equestrian culture of all disciplines, we can start at home rather than scream into the void of the internet. Social commentary is important, but open-hearted local discussions can fuel accountability and integrity in the communities that you ride in. Let’s take our eyes off Dujardin for a minute, and ask our horses what they think of us.
