29/07/2024
A very well written article. The bullying that Charlotte is currently getting is appalling & very sad. People are quick to forget how much good she has brought to the sport, exhibiting supreme harmony of horse & rider..
The mythology of deities and villians.
Horse people are a special breed. They come in a remarkable variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and personality types, but still can share an almost cult-like obsession and dedication.
In May, I gave birth to my first baby, a little boy. It has been remarkable how even the most obvious of facts have created powerful, emotional epiphanies for me. For example, that every single person on Earth, was once a baby. A baby who was helpless, who was scared, who giggled, who just wanted and needed love and care. We share that experience as human beings.
I've long believed something similar about horse people. At some point, they were just innocently in love with the magnanimous beauty, freedom, and power that horses possess. Before the riding, the discipline, the art, or the sport, there was just the love of the animal. We share that experience as equestrians.
Charlotte Dujardin's very public fall from grace brings all of this to the forefront for me. I was not at all shocked or surprised when I saw the video. I wasn't even that disturbed because it is nowhere near the worst I have seen. This type of approach is par for the course in top sport Dressage. We know it's reflective of a culture problem and not a one-off because 4 things are very evident:
1) Despite being clearly stressed, the horse was quite tolerant. This isn't the first time he's experienced this kind of treatment and been expected to figure something out... and he isn't Charlotte's horse.
2) Charlotte's attitude is determined and matter-of-fact. She isn't whipped up in an emotional frenzy and she was okay to do this in front of an audience.
3) The rider claims to have been uncomfortable and unhappy in the moment, but was too intimidated to question such a celebrity trainer.
4) Charlotte's own mentor, Carl Hester, signed a document condeming the actions in the video, as though what is in that video were the foreign acts of some rogue stranger. What completely un-mentor-like and disingenuous behavior. He was very happy to align himself with her in fair weather, and now he's cut her loose in the face of a storm.
What the video shows is without question, not okay. But, the absolute vilification of this women as though she is some monster who lied to everyone that thought of her as their queen... is total bu****it. She's being thrown to the wolves and is being made an example of by her own people for the purpose of politics. Yes, the timing of the release of a 2 year old video also makes that evident. This entire scene is indicative of a toxic, manipulative and exploitative culture within the industry of top sport.
Why wasn't Cesar Parra burned at the stake like this? Or Helgestrand? Their crimes are without any doubt worse. Is it because Helgestrand's family holds significatly greater financial influence and power in the industry? Or maybe it is just because they were never deified and held up as darling heros in the first place. The industry knows there is a culture problem with top sport, and the threat of outside regulation is becoming real. Isabell Werth, a notoriously egregious offender in horse welfare, also ironically signed this document condemning Charlotte. Next signature we will hear about is Sjef Janssen's!
Anyone who ever saw Charlotte and her horses as flawless, didnt know enough about what they were looking at, and that's okay. But don't accuse her of betrayal and blame her for your ignorance. In that video, she was doing what she's been taught, what had been rewarded by judges via the way her horses go, and what has been normalized in the industry. She's far from the worst offender and I absolutely know she's not a heartless monster.
Because she's just another human.
A wife.
A mother.
And yes, a horse lover, even if she has in some ways prioritized the horse's performance over his wellbeing.
But she was never a Goddess, a Unicorn, a Savior, or your Guru. Please spare those of us who knew better the shock and heartbreak. She didn't deceive you: the FEI, the national organizations like USEF, and the judges have been pulling the wool over your eyes, and hers, for decades.
Remember, Charlotte has been being told for years that what she is doing is not just correct, it's exemplary. The horses and Charlotte herself are the ones who are actually being betrayed by this ex*****on theater.
She didn't start her journey as a horse loving little girl doing what she did in that video, she was groomed by an industry that has lost it's way.
Hold THEM responsible!!
