Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: An Op-Ed and a Rant
The muck hit the stall fan. Now we all have to figure out how to handle it. Amanda Uechi Ronan takes a moment to discuss how to move forward following the drama surrounding Charlotte Dujardin.
Let me start this by saying this is not an insightful, well-balanced article. If you want that, head on over to Gwyneth McPherson’s piece posted last month. This is straight up one woman’s opinion and rant.
So let’s rip the bandage off quickly. I don’t feel pity for Charlotte Dujardin.
At first, admittedly, I didn’t want to watch the video. I avoided it for daaaays. But then the temptation was too much, and, after watching, to put it lightly, I was horrified. Mostly at the quiet, relaxed atmosphere in which the abuse was happening.
And I disagree with commentators that say the incident was a “weak moment” or “a bad day.”
Every equestrian has had a bad day. I certainly have. I’ve smacked a horse… more than once in my lifetime. But there are three big differences.
First, I’ve never used an object. It was always, always with the flat of my hand on the barrel. Which, despite my years of arm-specific yoga, has slightly more emotional impact than a gnat but less than a bot fly. Second, it was usually a quick overreaction. The horse tried to bite me. The horse tried to kick me. The horse tried to drag me, squash me, or pin me. Third, I always felt like an absolute human stain afterward. Like, I know Maximus almost ripped off my face, but why did I react like an imbecile?!? He deserves double carrots tomorrow.
In contrast, the video I watched of Dujardin showed a very calm woman in a very calm atmosphere calmly and repeatedly whipping the back legs of a horse. It didn’t seem like a split second reaction. It seemed like an everyday affair.
So, yeah, Dujardin made her bed. Now she has to lie in it.
I also don’t bemoan the timing.
Maybe the whistleblower didn’t understand what they filmed was abuse until now? Maybe they did and tried to say something sooner, but, not being an Olympic year, nobody cared? Maybe they just held onto a grudge until they saw an opportunity. I can guarantee if I found out a few people in the horse world were qualified for the Olympics… I would be digging through the hard drives looking for old screenshots and emails.
I’m a petty boss mare. I’ll bite someone on the ass if they need moving. I don’t care if their head is face deep in a trough of sweet, yummy oats. Metaphorically speaking.
So, all that being said, where do we go from here?
Some have called for an end to equestrian sports at the Olympics all together.
I think that is hands down the wrong response.
Because having horses at the Olympics gives us not only a grand world stage to be good ambassadors for our sport but also to bring light to scandals. What would have happened to Dujardin if this was only reported to the FEI and not the mainstream media? My cynical heart says very little.
And we can’t ban an entire sport because of one bad [horribly rotten] apple. Should we have banned figure skating after the 2022 Kamila Valieva scandal? Should we have banned gymnastics after Nassar pleaded guilty in 2018? Should we ban swimming because of the latest suspicions surrounding China’s team?
No, because that punishes everyone, not just the guilty.
What we need is absolute transparency.
Britain equestrian rider Carl Hester, who said he was shocked by the video of Dujardin to Euro News, has an open training yard with the goal of being transparent about his daily training.
“Everybody is welcome to my yard,” Hester said. “People come in my yard every day. I have pride [in] the fact that our yard shows horse welfare to be its highest by the way I keep my horses.”
What we need are more people like — dare I say it? — Snoop Dogg, who is probably doing as much for equestrians right now as anyone. He’s humanizing the sport that so many in the world view as a bygone tradition reserved only for the super rich.
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We need more behind-the-scenes shots of Boyd Martin sharing bananas with Bruno.
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We need tours of the air-conditioned stables at Versailles. That’s right, I said air-conditioned. The horses were the only group of athletes guaranteed that luxury at the Games this year.
So let’s punish wrongdoers. Absolutely. But let’s also not fly off the handle. There’s a place for horses at the Olympics. They’ve been there since 1900, debuting in Paris no less.
*Some may have noticed I failed to mention the Pentathlon, which I don’t consider an equestrian sport. I watched the drama unfold in Tokyo and I agree with critics that say the show jumping portion is outdated. Pentathlon riders do not own the horses they are riding. They’re assigned at the competition, which changes everything. Being only 20% of the event, the athletes also aren’t necessarily focused on becoming excellent riders. From what I watched in 2021, very few had a good seat and even fewer had soft hands. Honestly, I wish the ban had been made effective immediately rather than waiting for 2028.
Go riding.
Amanda Uechi Ronan is an author, equestrian, and wannabe race car driver. Follow her on Instagram @amanda_uechi_ronan.
