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One of the biggest stars of the British team at the Paris Olympic Games, Charlotte Dujardin, has withdrawn from the competition for allegedly mistreating a horse. To understand the magnitude of the figure of the rider, she was one medal away from becoming, at the age of 39, the most successful woman of Great Britain at Olympic level.
She currently has three golds, one silver and two bronzes in three Olympic participations and is equal in number of medals with cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.
A few days ago, an undisclosed Dutch website ed the International Equestrian Sports Federation (FEI), to whom they forwarded images from four years ago showing Dujardin allegedly mistreating a horse. British Equestrian (the Federation) was informed of the incident and, according to the Guardian, they have confirmed that it is an animal welfare issue.
Dujardin has decided to withdraw from all competition while the FEI investigates the incident. The rider has issued a statement on the matter to clarify her situation: "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. 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.
"I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete."