Six months after returning from a suspension related to horse welfare concerns, Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin is again under scrutiny following a video filmed at the Amsterdam World Cup. The footage shows Dujardin riding her mare, Alive And Kicking, in a manner experts describe as causing tension and behavioral conflict in the horse. Specialists, including former European equine vet president Mette Uldahl and horse welfare authority Professor Paul McGreevy, criticize the simultaneous use of spurs to urge the horse forward while holding tight reins to restrain it—an approach they say is unfair, stressful, and contrary to modern dressage principles emphasizing clear, harmonious communication between horse and rider.
The controversy reignites debate over rider rehabilitation after suspensions, with calls for mandatory educational support before riders return to competition—a system already in place in other equestrian disciplines but not in British dressage. Despite widespread criticism and calls for better welfare enforcement, the British Equestrian Federation has not publicly condemned Dujardin’s riding in the video, citing the limited context of the footage. Meanwhile, welfare advocates like World Horse Welfare and Collectif Pour Les Chevaux emphasize the need for judging criteria that prioritize horse comfort and penalize signs of distress, underscoring ongoing tensions between competitive success and ethical treatment in equestrian sport.
