Denmark has hastily replaced a member of its dressage squad for Paris after an old video showing alleged horse abuse was leaked to its national federation, Dansk Ride Forbund (DRF.)
Denmark ‒ which narrowly lost team bronze to Britain at Tokyo ‒ was on the cusp of naming Carina Cassøe Kruth as its reserve/alternate when the crisis arose on July 7. Kruth recused herself the following morning, initially citing personal reasons. But the DRF has revealed it was already mobilising to pull a press release naming her as reserve.
Kruth has admitted to Danish broadcaster TV2 that her behaviour was unacceptable, while insisting it was an isolated incident.
The exact content of the video is undisclosed, as is why the whistleblower chose the eve of the team announcement to share something that occurred two-and-a-half years ago. It involves an out-of-competition training incident that breaches DRF abuse regulations of abuse, including harsh actions and mis-use of equipment in training. DRF says no one else was present in the video.
There has been no time for investigation, or for disciplinary proceedings to progress beyond being opened on July 8. It is a sign of the growing pressure of social licence to operate that DRF has moved quickly to distance its team from controversy three weeks before the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
The video clip was also given to TV2, to whom Kruth said: “The video sequence is from a training session in February 2022 and shows a clear error on my part, which I am very sorry for and deeply regret, as it certainly does not characterize the way I train horses.
“There is nothing that must stand in the way of the Olympics in Paris, and therefore I chose on Monday 8 July to withdraw as a candidate, while the DRF’s disciplinary committee deals with the matter.
“Denmark is fielding an incredibly strong dressage team in Paris, and I am very much looking forward to following the strong presentation of my talented national team colleagues.”
Kruth has ties to Andreas Helgstrand, who incurred reputational damage following the “Operation X” undercover documentary on TV2 last fall. Helgstrand was one of Kruth’s trainers for four years before Tokyo (where she finished seventh individually) and beyond. In January, Kruth’s husband Casper resigned as chief executive of the Danish Warmlood Association and was quickly announced as new operations executive for Helgstrand at Global Equestrian Group. At that time Casper Kruth commented, “It’s no secret that our industry has faced criticism. I look forward to being part of a market-leading company that will need to take the lead and set new standards.”
Helgstrand has not faced any proceedings over the pushback from Operation X, though he has not renewed his FEI athlete registration for 2024 and remains excluded from the Danish team.
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