The mentor of Britain’s scandal-scarred equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin is speaking out — and supporting his protege.
Carl Hester, who has been one of Dujardin’s closest coaches in her run to three gold medals, opened up about the rider’s alarming video in which she was seen repeatedly whipping a horse.
“That video is fairly obvious and no one will support that. You can’t,” Hester told The Independent. “But over 17 years of knowing Charlotte, I have not seen that. That is not her.”
Hester added that the length of time that’s passed since the video — four years — should warrant forgiveness for Dujardin.
“This is four years ago, people do make mistakes,” Hester said. “What do we do, never forgive people? It’s going to be a long road and a lesson for everybody in the horse world. We have to put the horses first and showcase them.”
Dujardin, 39, withdrew from competition at the 2024 Olympics on July 23 — only four days before the start of Olympic equestrian events — as the disconcerting video first began to surface.
The six-time Olympic medalist expressed her remorse in a subsequent Instagram post.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse,” Dujardin said. “I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment. I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors.”
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Dujardin, an Enfield, Greater London native, had placed on the podium in three straight Olympics in equestrian dressage.
Hester himself, regarded as one of the world’s foremost riders, ranked third with a 77.345 total score in Day 1 of the dressage grand prix on Tuesday in Paris.
The 57-year-old has earned a medal in three straight Summer Games in team dressage but is now vying for additional hardware in the individual competition.
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