Australian dressage Olympian Heath Ryan has been provisionally suspended by each Equestrian Australia and the Worldwide Federation for Equestrian Sports activities (FEI) following the discharge of disturbing footage displaying him repeatedly whipping a horse throughout a coaching session. The video, which started circulating on-line earlier this week, reveals the 66-year-old rider placing a six-year-old gelding named Nico greater than 40 occasions inside an indoor enviornment. The footage, reportedly filmed two years in the past, was shared by a former displeased workers member, sparking instant public outrage and swift motion from governing our bodies.
Equestrian Australia confirmed the provisional suspension and introduced that an integrity investigation is underway. “The welfare of the horse is of paramount significance,” the federation said. “The footage is extraordinarily regarding and falls properly under the requirements anticipated inside our sport.”
The FEI has echoed this stance, issuing its personal suspension pending additional disciplinary proceedings underneath its equine welfare and conduct rules.
Ryan, a long-time determine in Australian equestrian sport who represented the nation on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defended his actions in a public assertion. He claimed that Nico had beforehand injured a rider and was destined for euthanasia. “This was a rescue mission,” Ryan wrote, arguing that the coaching strategies used, whereas extreme, had been geared toward correcting harmful behaviour and in the end led to the horse being efficiently retrained and re-homed.
The reason has accomplished little to calm the rising backlash. Main sponsors together with Bates Saddles, Pryde’s EasiFeed, and Horseland have terminated their partnerships with Ryan in response to the footage.
In an additional growth, the RSPCA has confirmed it’s conducting its personal inquiry into potential breaches of animal welfare laws.
This case comes at a time of heightened scrutiny within the sport, following related controversies involving high-level riders. In 2023, British Olympian Charlotte Dujardin was banned for a 12 months by the FEI after video proof emerged of her placing a horse with a whip throughout coaching—a case that reignited international debate over acceptable coaching practices in elite dressage.
Animal welfare advocates and main figures within the equestrian neighborhood are calling for elevated transparency, higher schooling, and more durable enforcement to make sure horses are protected against mistreatment, no matter aggressive standing.