Controversy: the Olympics’ newest equestrian sport

Who says dressage is boring? The run-up to the Olympics has featured a level of drama usually reserved for Real Housewives and Kardashians, not our staid and genteel sport.

​Morgan Barbaçon found herself ousted from team France after repeatedly running afoul of the FEI’s doping reporting system. Carina Cassøe Keith was set to be named as alternate for Team Denmark when a video surfaced which allegedly showed her mistreating a horse. Team Germany second reserve Rafael Netz was ready to pack his bags for Paris when first reserve Ingrid Klimke announced her horse was injured. However Netz apparently shared Barbaçon’s struggles with the FEI’s anti-doping website, thereby ceding his Olympic opportunity to Sönke Rothenburger.

All of that pales in comparison with today’s news that Charlotte Dujardin has been temporarily suspended by the FEI and British Dressage pending the investigation of a four-year-old video which allegedly shows her abusing a horse. The announcement not only disappointed thousands of fans who were looking forward to watching one of the sport’s brightest stars compete at the Olympics, it has shaken the dressage world to its core.

There was much rejoicing when well-known abusers Andreas Helgstrand and Cesar Parra were finally put under formal investigation by the FEI. There is no room for unethical riding, training and teaching in our sport. In the wake of Dujardin’s announcement, however, there is so far just shock, confusion and unanswered questions.

How could someone renowned for her ethical training and horsemanship have mistreated a horse?

Why was the video sent to the FEI now, just two weeks before the Olympics, and not four years ago?

What does the video show? Some allege it’s nothing more than standard training of piaffe by lightly tapping the horse’s legs with a whip. Others state it captures Dujardin beating a horse with a whip. Likely few people know the truth, because so far the video hasn’t been made public.

I hope it does become public. If it does show abuse, that needs to be brought to light. If it doesn’t, Dujardin will be vindicated, albeit too late for these Olympics. Regardless, she did the best thing for her team by stepping down. The negative attention would have distracted the athletes from focusing on the job at hand; performing their best at the Olympics.

And that brings me to our own Canadian controversy. Much has been written about the conflicts of interest within the High Performance Advisory Group which selects our Olympic team. There has been plenty of discussion about the successful appeal by second reserve rider Ariana Chia, and the odd sequence of events following the appeal which led to her horse’s owners deciding not to send the stallion to Paris.

​What we haven’t heard is any official statement from Equestrian Canada regarding this decision, whether another second reserve pair has been named to replace Ariana and Guateque IV and if so, whether that horse and rider will be at training camp with the rest of the team.

So far, the questions I’ve submitted to EC’s Director of Communications on that topic have gone unanswered. And that’s ok for now. I will be pursuing all angles of this story and speaking to parties from all sides to help clarify what happened, why it happened, and how things can be improved in the future. But the time for those conversations is after the games. Right now we have more important things to focus on.

We have four riders and their horses (three team members plus an alternate) who earned their spots on the team by virtue of their qualifying scores. They have done nothing wrong. They are focused on achieving their lifelong goal of representing Canada at the Olympics, and they deserve our full support. The task ahead of them is huge. We know they aren’t in medal contention, but they still owe it to themselves and their country try to perform to the very best of their abilities. I can’t imagine how much pressure they are feeling, and how all the negativity surrounding the selection process is affecting them.

Let’s be clear: I applaud Ariana Chia for coming forward, for exposing the issues with the selection process and advocating for change. She has handled an unthinkable situation with the utmost grace and I support her efforts to fix the process 100%. I also fully support the members of our Olympic team. They have each worked so hard for this moment and I want us all to celebrate their achievements and their right to call themselves Olympians.

Our dressage community seems to have been split into two teams: Team Ariana and Team Olympians. But right now, and for the next two weeks we are all on one team. We are all Team Canada.