Dressage rider goes to the air after severe whipping from national team
Danish dressage rider Carina Cassoe Krüth has been excluded from the national team after allegedly severely whipping a horse. Following the emergence of a video confirming the allegations, she was fined. The federation has now also suspended her from the national team - for an indefinite period.
Danish dressage rider Carina Cassoe Krüth has been excluded from the national team due to whip strikes. The reason behind this is a video showing her severely whipping a horse. The federation announced this. The rider's behavior in the 2022 training video was deemed incompatible with the norms and values described in the sports plan for the federation's squad and national team members. The duration of the suspension was initially unknown.
Cassoe Krüth was initially supposed to travel as a reserve rider with the dressage team to the Olympic Games but withdrew her participation shortly before the team announcement. According to the news agency Ritzau, this happened after the video was passed on to the Danish Equestrian Federation. The rider had won EM bronze with the Danish team last year and WM gold in 2022.
Initially, only a fine
Initially, the federation imposed a fine of around 670 euros on Cassoe Krüth. The temporary suspension of the dressage rider followed after the video was published on the internet and sparked fierce criticism in Danish public opinion. This is the latest shocking case in the dressage sports scene. Before the Games, three-time Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin had made headlines. A four-year-old video suddenly surfaced showing Dujardin acting against the welfare of a horse.
The world governing body FEI then announced that Dujardin had been provisionally suspended. The 39-year-old had requested this herself pending investigations into the video. "What happened was not at all how I handle my horses or teach my students, but there's no excuse," Dujardin later stated. "I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example. I sincerely apologize for my behavior."
Despite the fines and suspensions, the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris remain an eagerly anticipated event for the equestrian community. Consequently, the exclusion of Carina Cassoe Krüth from the Danish team is a significant loss for the nation's hopes in the dressage events.
