The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) suspended two-time Olympic equestrian champion Mark Todd for striking a horse with a branch in a video released a few days ago.
The 65-year-old New Zealander, who now trains horses in Wiltshire in Britain, was seen hitting a horse several times, forcing the animal towards a water jump in a cross-country schooling session.
“An interim suspension should be placed on the training licence of Sir Mark Todd following the emergence over the weekend of a video showing him striking a horse with what appears to be a branch,” the BHA said in a statement on Wednesday.
The interim suspension means Todd will be unable to race and train horses in Britain or internationally until investigations into animal cruelty are carried out.
Todd, who won gold medals at the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympics, apologised for his actions in the video.
This, from Sir Mark Todd, is absolutely disgusting.
— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) February 12, 2022
This is not the behaviour of someone knighted for services to Equestrian Sport pic.twitter.com/fRIa5D27cy
The Animal Reader is a small independent animal news platform based in the Netherlands. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.