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Olympic rider suspended after horse whipping video
Horse & Hound
|June 19, 2025
Footage from two years ago has surfaced, and is being investigated by the rider's federations
AUSTRALIAN Olympic rider Heath Ryan said he is sad an "awful" video has surfaced of him repeatedly whipping a young horse - which he described as part of a "rescue mission", and which the FEI and Equestrian Australia (EA) are investigating.
The 66-year-old, who competed at the 2008 Games in dressage and was eventing at four-star level in 2024, has been provisionally suspended as of 12 June.
An EA spokesperson told H&H the federation is aware of the footage and had received a formal complaint.
"EA is extremely alarmed and concerned by the treatment of the horse," he said.
"The person depicted in the video is a member of Equestrian Australia. EA is currently investigating this matter and will have more to say when we have more information."
In a statement, Heath said the “most awful video” was taken two years ago, of a six-year-old called Nico, a “beautiful type” who was “dropped off at my place on his way to the knackery”.
“He was genetically a result of my best stallions, all of which were successful in grand prix dressage, so Nico was beautifully bred,” he said.
“Nico belonged to a wonderful family friend who had been put in hospital in intensive care by Nico.
This story is from the June 19, 2025 edition of Horse & Hound.
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