On July 25—one day before equestrian competition began at the Paris Olympic Games and four days after a video of British double Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse during a training session caused a scandal broader than the horse world—the Fédération Equestre International called a press roundtable on horse welfare. 

As a throng of international media were descending upon the equestrian venue at the Palace of Versailles for the start of competition, FEI President Ingmar De Vos started the roundtable by discussing various welfare initiatives the federation has in place, including the work of its Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, created in 2022, and the “A Good Life For Horses,” plan it created to ensure the physical and emotional needs of horses are at the forefront of equestrian sports.

He and other FEI officials discussed research, financial investment and myriad efforts surrounding topics like the importance of ethical training practices, comfortable equipment, consideration of horses’ physical and emotional wellbeing outside of competition, and combating the use of illegal medications. They then opened the floor to questions.

“We are not sitting here for doping,” said one of the first reporters to speak. “We’re here because of Charlotte Dujardin. Were you surprised?”

During these Olympic Games, terse interactions between equestrians and press agency journalists focused on horse welfare issues in the wake of disturbing videos involving high-profile athletes like Dujardin, Andreas Helgstrand and Cesar Parra have been a common occurrence. Riders accustomed to answering predictable questions about their rounds and their horses instead find themselves being asked whether abuse is rife in their sport, and to speak about allegations against their peers. 

Athletes In The Hot Seat

Stopping by the mixed zone, where athletes answer media questions after their rides, U.S. eventer Boyd Martin on Friday, July 26, found himself rapidly shifting gears from talking about his dressage ride and the story of his partnership with Fedarman B to being asked about the Dujardin video and whether more should be done to address horse welfare. 

“Horse welfare is just incredibly important,” he replied. “These wonderful animals mean so much to me and our team, and I was obviously, like everyone, horrified in what we saw, and as a professional that sort of makes their career off these horses, it’s our duty to treat them like gold.”

He next was asked about a yellow card warning issued that day to Brazilian eventer Carlos Parro for actions in a July 25 training session “that could have caused unnecessary discomfort to the horse.” Martin said he had not seen the incident and did not comment on the situation.

“Horse welfare is just incredibly important. These wonderful animals mean so much to me and our team, and I was obviously, like everyone, horrified in what we saw, and as a professional that sort of makes their career off these horses, it’s our duty to treat them like gold.”

Boyd Martin, U.S. eventer

Isabell Werth, the most decorated equestrian in Olympic history, had a tense exchange Wednesday after her Grand Prix ride on Wendy, a horse formerly campaigned by Helgstrand, who was barred from representing Denmark after a TV exposé showed riders at his sales stable handling horses poorly and riding horses aggressively. The reporter questioned why she chose to work with Helgstrand, saying he’d been “suspended for animal abuse.”

“He’s not suspended because of abuse, but I don’t want to talk about this,” she fired back. “It happened, and it was a rider in a stable. It was not him, and I don’t discuss this here. Not more Charlotte, not more Andreas, not more Parra, nothing more. Everything is said. And I got a fantastic mare, and a very great, beloved mare, and I got super other horses from Helgstrand Dressage, so there’s nothing more to discuss.”

When the reporter insisted Helgstrand had admitted the situation was his fault, Werth retorted, “Maybe you know everything and everywhere, the overview about other people. He, not. This, he had to accept. But there’s nothing more to say. Sorry.”

British riders have faced the full force of international press asking questions about Dujardin, who was expected to be here with them, competing in Paris, until the training video was submitted to the FEI the weekend before the Games began. Carl Hester, Dujardin’s mentor, and Becky Moody, the Olympic first timer who replaced her on the team, echoed each other’s sentiments that the video did not represent the athlete they knew well. 

“And I think that everybody just has to remember the human in this situation,” Moody concluded, her voice filled with emotion. “That would be very nice.” 

Horse Sports Under Scrutiny

Over the past several years, the FEI and national federations including the U.S. Equestrian Federation have focused increasingly not just on animal welfare for its own sake, but the idea of “social license to operate,” or the idea that horse sports need at least benign approval from the general public in order to continue.

The high-profile cases involving Helgstrand and Dujardin, combined with the timing of the allegations involving Dujardin days before the Games began, served to underline just how important that idea is. 

Should a horse be injured in competition here, it’s likely to reported on far outside the equestrian media. Articles filed on mainstream media websites this week have included such titles as: “Equestrian scandal leaves niche sport flat-footed in addressing it at Olympics” in USA Today and “USA dressage team eliminated from Olympics over cut on horse’s leg; PETA says equestrian events ‘must go’ ” on Fox News; and “PETA demands IOC remove equestrian sports” on ESPN.

Already, one rider has been disciplined based on photographs, taken during a July 25 training session and submitted to the FEI by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, that showed his mare’s chin tucked near her chest. Brazilian eventer Carlos Parro received a yellow card the following day for action that “could have caused unnecessary discomfort to the horse.” 

“[T]he ground jury has directly addressed the situation with the athlete and the chef d’equipe of Brazil,” the FEI wrote in a statement. “The FEI stewards are aware of the incident and will be vigilant at all times for any behavior that is not in line with horse welfare and are prepared to take immediate action if such behavior occurs.”

Interviewed Saturday after his cross-country round, Parro vehemently denied any mistreatment of his mare, Safira, and said he was disappointed in the FEI’s response to PETA.

“I think the FEI was trying to make an example and justify the picture, trying to get out of their hands and put into my hands, even though I didn’t do anything wrong. Honestly, I think it’s wrong that the governing body is accepting that and giving them wood for the fire.”

Carlos Parro, Brazilian eventer

 “I’ve never mistreated a horse; it’s just not something I’ve done ever,” Parro said, adding that the moment caught in the photographs showed the mare’s natural tendency to put her head to her chest when anxious. “The stewards were there; they could have seen if I had done anything wrong, and they didn’t.”

Parro contended the FEI rushed to its decision to yellow-card him and ignored video of the training ride that his team submitted.

“I think the FEI was trying to make an example and justify the picture, trying to get out of their hands and put into my hands, even though I didn’t do anything wrong,” said Parro, who completed cross-country but withdrew Safira before Sunday’s second horse inspection. “Honestly, I think it’s wrong that the governing body is accepting that and giving them wood for the fire.”

PETA also posted a story on its German website last week targeting world No. 3 show jumper Max Kuhner of Austria. In September 2023, PETA filed a criminal complaint against Kuhner in Germany, where the rider is based, accusing him of abusing horses by rapping their legs during training sessions over fences. 

During the Thursday roundtable, FEI Veterinary Director Göran Åkerström said the federation is “actively investigating” PETA’S allegations and seeking more information. Kuhner has denied the allegations, and a story posted last week on the World of Show Jumping website indicated PETA had not provided proof of its allegation to the FEI or the German and Austrian equestrian federations, despite requests to do so.

FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez expressed disappointment that the Dujardin videos were not submitted to the FEI years ago, when they first were filmed. At the same time, she noted that the FEI is looking at ways to strengthen its existing rules regarding animal welfare.

“[We’re] talking about statute of limitations to prosecute cases; this is something we want the national federations also to do so they can prosecute cases on a national level,” she said. “There’s always room for improvement. Now we have a more holistic view of what needs to be further addressed.”

FEI Promotes Welfare Initiatives

A major focus of the FEI’s pre-Games press roundtable was pre-emptively responding to questions about the importance of welfare in horse sports and promoting the initiatives, such as the establishment of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission two years ago and its investment in recommendations that have spawned from it.

“The commission made us look to our sport and the relationship we have with the horse in a completely different way,” De Vos said during the roundtable. “In the past we always spoke about partnership, the bond. What the commission told us, basically, is it’s not the partnership. In a partnership you are both equal. But you are and should be the guardian of the horse. You need to take care of the horse. That’s your main task.”

“In the past we always spoke about partnership, the bond. What the [Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission] told us, basically, is it’s not the partnership. In a partnership you are both equal. But you are and should be the guardian of the horse. You need to take care of the horse.”

Ingmar De Vos, FEI president

For the first time, an animal welfare coordinator, French veterinarian Dr. Richard Corde, is being employed at these Games to advise the ground juries, veterinarian and federations involved in each sport, De Vos said.

“I think one thing that’s been much discussed in the last few days is training methods, obviously,” Åkerström said during the press conference, referencing the Dujardin video. “One of the action points we have is on ethical training methods. We will be looking into how horses are trained, what form they are trained, ridden in, what is ethical, where do we draw the lines with what we can and cannot do with horses. That’s one of the key items. We will involve experts from various aspects of veterinary science, welfare science, behavioral science, but also our riders and trainers because they are critical. We need to have them also embrace this message. They need to be part of this movement. They need to be guardians.”

Ibáñez emphasized that the FEI’s focus on welfare is not a new or reactive concept, but one the federation has worked on continuously over the years to improve and refine, and one is most effective when the FEI isn’t seen as just as a regulatory agency making rules, but as a support to horse people living by that credo of providing a good life for horses.

“One of the things that was really advantaged about us having this Equine Ethics Commission is that it allowed us to have a more holistic view,” she said. “Over the years we’ve done a lot. The Code of Conduct was implemented already in 1990. Already [we] really check everywhere … the progress we are doing on this.

“By having this commission, everybody understood that it’s no longer just the FEI’s responsibility,” she continued. “This is a collective responsibility. It goes all the way from the grass roots all the way up to the international federation. One of the keys things we need to do is provide our national federations, to give to their clubs, a toolbox of things they can actually implement. Having this holistic view has really helped us understand where there is room for improvement. This is an ongoing process. We need to be the guardians of the sport.”

Jennifer O. Bryant contributed reporting to this story.