An Olympic equestrian just earned himself an indefinite suspension after a video emerged showing him whipping the horse he was riding dozens of times. The clip, which has been circulating on social media, shows Heath Ryan, a 66-year-old dressage competitor, riding Nico, reports TMZ, which counts upward of 40 lashes that Ryan gives the horse.
Equestrian Australia, which has since launched an inquiry into Ryan's alleged whipping, says it's "extremely alarmed and concerned" over the incident. Equestrian Australia "takes matters of animal welfare very seriously," the group says in its statement. Ryan, meanwhile, stepped up on Wednesday to offer more insight into what had gone down in the video. "Oh my goodness! The most awful video of me on a young horse has just surfaced," he writes in a statement posted Wednesday to Facebook.
Ryan, who says the incident took place a couple of years ago and was recorded by an "unhappy ex employee," insists he was actually trying to save Nico with the whippings, as the horse had a history of disciplinary issues and was in peril of being put down. "That video was a life or death moment for Nico and of that I was very aware," Ryan writes. "I felt I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options."
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Ryan says Nico has since been rehomed, and that the horse is now "thriving in a loving and competitive home with an exciting future." "Unbelievably it was so successful for everyone except me with the release of this video," he says. EA, meanwhile, says the suspension will remain in place until the investigation wraps up. (More Olympic athletes stories.)
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