Is it true about Charlotte Dujardin withdrawing from the Olympics?

[Freakwave897]

Or is it fake news?

It’s so disappointing if true…

I am a huge fan and can’t quite believe what I am hearing.

Perhaps, I should have inserted the word 'metaphorical'.

Whipping a defenceless horse that is clearly frighten and confused is basic and archaic behaviour much as the metaphorical stoning posters are being accused of, which is simply projection, deflection and guilt tripping. It's manipulative and violent language defending a violent and coercive woman.

It was @needtonamechangeforthis1 who introduced hyperbole on this thread are you going to challenge them on it as well?

Looks like damage control is kicking in an PR help is being sought. Watch this thread and how it evolves.

I hope the person releasing the video has a very good excuse as to why they waited so long - it couldn't be about getting the highest price from the media could it?

Who cares @Portakalkedi ... If Charlotte hadn't ferociously whipped the horse, the video wouldn't exist

I believe the person releasing the video is young - and clearly was surrounded by others who thought this behaviour was OK.

They have seen the action taken against Andreas Helgstrand and realised they aren't alone, and that just before the Olympics is the only time a wider audience cares about dressage.

I think they are to be applauded.

I have withdrawn the post as I don't condone hyperbole perhaps@needtonamechangeforthis1 will do the same?

@Portakalkedi it was CDJ who said the video is 4 years old, this is not necessary true 2 years was mentioned elsewhere. There could be many good reasons why the video wasn't released until now. Let's not deflect.

Stop blaming the person who did the right thing, no matter how long it took, and start blaming the woman who abuses horses.

people who are asking whether or how much to trust the FEI might like to look at this. I think the rock has rolled there but how much will and teeth it has....well I think this one will show. https://inside.fei.org/system/files/Session%202_Equine%20Ethics%20and%20Wellbeing%20-%20Social%20License%20to%20operate.pdf google FEI social licence for more info.

Looks like damage control is kicking in an PR help is being sought. Watch this thread and how it evolves

Ehat does this mean? You think PR is going to save her after the world has watched that video?

Having been a whistleblower myself (in a completely different scenario involving someone who volunteers with children) I can very much understand why the whistleblower did not speak up immediately.

When the person being criticised is popular, experienced and applauded and their behaviour is implicitly condoned by everyone around them then it is very psychologically difficult both to believe your own instincts when they seem to differ from everyone else's and then to speak out.

It may well have taken a while for the whistleblower to process what they witnessed and to work out in their mind that this behaviour was definitely not acceptable. It may have been hard to trust their own instincts when those around them who should be expected to know what is ok and what is not seemed to think the behaviour was acceptable.

It may have been a difficult psychological process to accept that their own instincts were right and the many people around them who seemed to think it was acceptable were wrong. This would presumably be even harder when the whistleblower was a child and the adults around them seemed to be condoning the behaviour - maybe even their own parents.

Even when the whistleblower accepted the behaviour was definitely wrong, it may be that there were other people around who did agree with them but made the whistleblower feel that they could not speak up because no one else would be willing to back them up and no one would believe them.

Again from my own experiences I know that there are only a very few people who are actually willing to put their own head above the parapet to publicly criticise poor behaviour. Many people are willing to privately criticise but then go quiet when it comes to putting themselves out there to stand by their criticisms.

Any whistleblower has to be extremely strong to stand up and speak out and face the criticisms they will receive and to stand by their accusations when others don't publicly back them up.

In addition many people's instincts seem to be to feel sorry for the person being criticised - see some posts on this thread. It is really sad how many people focus on the feelings of the abusers and not on the fact that they abused the vulnerable and that it is the vulnerable victim who should be focused on.

It is the person's own unacceptable behaviour that is the cause of the criticism and if they didn't want to be publicly criticised then they should not have behaved in that way.

Portakalkedi · Today 09:12
I hope the person releasing the video has a very good excuse as to why they waited so long - it couldn't be about getting the highest price from the media could it?

Completely irrelevant. The horrible woman repeatedly and viciously whipped an animal she claimed to love and who brought her medals and plaudits. Why are you shooting the messenger and seemingly excusing her vile behaviour?

Someone who whips a horse like that, it’s almost certainly not a one off. Her medals should be stripped.

For people questioning the length of time it took to report this, the influence that someone like CDJ has in the equine world is immense. She has been the "darling" of the sport for years. Speaking out against someone like that, even with evidence, is difficult. People like CDJ have connections; with judges, sponsors, other competitors, the FEI, venues, horse brokers. I can imagine for a very young rider that would be immensely scary. As I've said in an earlier post, I reported a producer for her behaviour in a class. Said producer is a big deal. Nothing done, still winning and producing. That's nothing like the fame CDJ has either.
Yes, it may have been timed well. I don't care about that, I'm just glad it been shown now. I don't think she has a hope in hell of recovering her career, even if the FEI lift a ban -public opinion is too strong. She would be better selling the horses she has and retiring quietly with the money she has made.

This. I wish all the people saying ‘why didn’t the whistle blower report it earlier’ would focus on the implications of whistleblowing against a very powerful person and the strength it takes. The whistleblower is a teenager too. They would have been younger at the time of the incident and are likely only now fully processing how they felt. They are likely to be going up against a number of others in their circle, friends family work associates who likely find this type of abuse ‘part of top level training’ and may now shun them.

It’s so understandable why people don’t whistleblow considering the comments on here and the recent comments I’ve seen about the Strictly scandal. Apparently it’s worse to say ‘someone kicked and spat at me’ or ‘someone abuses horses’ than it is to be violent towards another human or an animal. I really feel for anyone involved in having to whistleblow because they risk their comfort, often their anonymity and their safety in order to protect another - because of idiots who find reasons to criticise them.

This sort of rhetoric then puts off others from coming forward which means that more horses are vulnerable to this sort of treatment.

Why or when they came forward is entirely irrelevant. The fact they did is admirable.

If you feel anything other than sympathy for the whistleblower, then you need to give your head a shake and ask yourself: why is your first question about their legitimacy rather than horror at a person beating a horse?

Similar to the myth of the 'perfect victim', there is the myth of the perfect whistle-blower. Focusing on and criticising the timing and method in which this information was released only serves to distract from the actions of this abuser.

And honestly I could not care less about the impact on the GB Dressage team. There is absolutely no way that none of them knew what she was like or indeed, use the same abhorrent practices

I agree. What an utterly despicable person. I hope this not only takes her down but also launches a huge backlash against animal use for competition.

Spot on.

What a shame that such wholly unedifying behaviour has led to such an unedifying thread. What the video shows appears to be both cruel and pointless (I can’t see it was ever going to achieve what it was intended to achieve). But so many on here with stories and rumours. So many who know better. It’s easy to point at the cruelty at the top levels but ignore the cruelty of amateurs (while maybe less knowing still as cruel). To wit:

• the scared, unfit, unbalanced middle-aged women on horses too small jabbing their mouths every time they lose their balance or fear takes over
• the “kind” individuals who would never use a whip but will happily pound away dully at a horses sides
• poor fitting saddles
• failure to obtain proper veterinary care (usually due to cost - keeping horses when unaffordable to do so)
• overweight horses
• unfit horses being ridden once a week (or less) but still being ridden without the fitness to do so
• Treasured friends being ridden when they should be retired
• failure to recognise lameness
• over-rugging
• failure to teach and maintain manners, leading to a series of increasingly inadequate homes
• refusal to euthanise when right to do so to prevent suffering
• going barefoot on horses who just don’t have the hooves for it with the work they do

My point isn’t that this reduces the enormity of what was done, but that I bet more than one of the people on this thread being “sickened” and “appalled” do one or more of the things in my list. You can do something about that cruelty. Being internet appalled achieves nothing. Even if you haven’t done any of those, bet you’ve seen a rider seriously “under-horsed” at a competition. If you care about horse welfare report that. Report the rumour that you heard about a famous rider - it’s unlikely to go anywhere but it shows that such behaviour won’t be tolerated by the grass roots (for what good that will do). If you love the animals and/or the sport then do that - rather than join in a witch hunt that serves no purpose. I doubt you can tatter the woman’s life, reputation and self-image any more. So either it’s sound and fury signifying nothing - in which case shut up - or get out there and improve horse welfare with your own skin.

I don’t care about her mental health to be honest. Hopefully she will have plenty of time off from riding competitively to be able to address that herself.

This is so stupid. So because people may not have called out the above, they have no right to condemn CD’s actions? Get stuffed. All animal abuse is condemnable. This woman is teaching others that this is the right way to treat horses and will be breeding more abusers just like her.

No one should be quiet about this, everyone should be shouting about it. Because the more we shout about this incident, the more the messages gets across that it isn’t acceptable. And maybe now more people will have the courage to say something when they see the things you mentioned.

Stop trying to silence people who are standing up for innocents.

Hear hear, @AvacadoBathroomSuite . That cruel woman makes me sick to my stomach.

I also think that the publicity will help all those things too. It doesn’t excuse it but ignorance has a lot to answer for. Hopefully once ignorant people know better, they will do better and two wrongs and all that

I’m not trying to silence anyone - it would be pointless as I’m not the internet police. This is my opinion: it’s easy to care about welfare when all you have to do is say one woman is a monster on an internet forum. So I don’t place any value on the standards of people who do that, or care only about this “form” of cruelty.

What I am saying is twofold: (1) my opinion is that the hypocrites on here - who only care about this because it’s high profile - should shut up; unless (2) they’re prepared to put their money where their mouth is by challenging any form of cruelty that can be seen on any yard or at any competition venue in the country. I’ve helpfully given some examples so they can do just that, if they weren’t aware of other forms of cruelty.

But I add this as well. In my view, negotiating a relationship with a horse is fraught. We risk behaving inappropriately any time we engage, particularly where our engagement is under-informed. The people on here screaming have all almost certainly been cruel at some point, most likely without meaning to be or knowing (I’m sure I have and I strive to minimise that. But yes, I’ve had a saddle that was causing my horse pain - could I have noticed that sooner, if I knew more about anatomy and saddlery?). They can’t touch the perpetrator here, but they can instead of wasting their time screaming about it use that time to learn more to minimise their negative impact on the horses they come into contact with. If there is nothing more they can learn (and there will be more - there always is) instead of being self righteous on the internet, the next time they see a person too large or too heavy competing a horse, they can report it to the venue. They can report rough riding. But they don’t. What I’m saying is that being outraged at this doesn’t help horse welfare. Educating ourselves, having a realistic view of our knowledge, abilities and physical impact on our horses, being brave enough to speak out can.

So instead of condemning someone who will be dealt with by the relevant authority, let’s go stroke our horses, and maybe read a few pages of a book on saddlery, or horse anatomy or even communication. Take the time that we’re wasting here to meal prep to support weight loss, spend 10 extra minutes in the gym to become stronger and more balanced to help out the horses we ride. If we care, that does much, much more for horses.

I’m not trying to silence those “sticking up for innocents”, I’m suggesting they do it in a constructive way

How do you know who the hypocrits are?