An FEI Tribunal panel has determined that Australian dressage Olympian Heath Ryan committed abuse by whipping a horse 42 times in a row during a training session, then delivering blows nine more times, as seen in a May 2023 video.
Ryan, also a three-time Australian three-day event champion, had been provisionally suspended by the FEI in June 2025. A decision in the matter that was released last week stated the suspension would end on Dec. 12, 2026, 18 months after its inception.
The punishment also included a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs, as well as 3,000 Swiss francs in court costs.
Another whipping case that drew attention was the suspension of British dressage multi-gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin, who was suspended for striking a horse with a longe whip in a private training session. She missed the 2024 Olympics as a result.
Calling the Ryan whipping process “constant and consistent,” this month’s FEI decision stated “each strike followed the last with no pause and no hesitation, leaving the horse no opportunity to respond. Even a single whip may be excessive if applied with too much force.”
In his response, Ryan contended the use of the whip was justified because “the horse had developed extremely dangerous behavior. It had attacked and severely injured its owner and placed her in intensive care. The owner had decided the horse should be euthanized unless it could be re-educated.”
The videotaped session was the first occasion on which Ryan rode the horse, describing the animal as being “on the verge of extreme aggression.”
According to an expert report presented to the FEI by Dr. Rachel Murray, the first video shows at least 41 whip strikes, delivered at an average
of 1.3 strikes per second, with only about 0.75 seconds between impacts, “applied with high power by a large rider to the same location, continuously and without allowing the horse time to respond, such that the whipping had no rational training value.”
Dr Murray concluded that the whip was used excessively and as punishment, without release and contrary to recognized learning theory. She also identified “signs of stress, pain and conflict in the horse.”
Ryan responded that he had applied recognized Equitation Science principles, including negative reinforcement with progressive escalation of aids and immediate release upon response. The videos showed only the escalation phase after lighter aids had been given and ignored, and that the assertion in the FEI claim of “no interruption” was inaccurate.
Ryan added the whip was “applied carefully with close attention to timing, duration and release,” and he was “careful not to cross into a fear-state.”
The whip was in his left hand. Ryan noted he was right-handed, contending if he had been trying to hit the horse with strength, the whip would have been in his right hand.
Denying the charges, Ryan maintained the conduct alleged did not meet the threshold of abuse under Article 142 of the FEI’s general regulations, “whether assessed legally, scientifically, or by reference to accepted equine-welfare principles.”
Calling the penalty disproportionate and punitive, he maintained it failed to account for the substantial punishment already suffered through
reputational, professional and financial losses arising from the interim suspension.
Noting he had produced 15 Grand Prix dressage horses over his career, Ryan calculated he had spent a minimum of 1,930,500 minutes training and
competing Grand Prix dressage horses, during which time he had never been accused of abuse, abusive training methods, misuse of aids, horse welfare
issues, or bringing the FEI or the sport into disrepute. The 60 seconds of video represented 0.0000518 percent of the time he had spent riding, training and caring for horses.
Some prominent people in the sport submitted comments in support of Ryan.
Among them was U.S. eventing star Boyd Martin, who trained with Ryan before coming to America from Australia. He made the point that the footage omitted “30 minutes of patient work beforehand and the horse’s compliance at the end. There was no pattern, history or prior complaint.”
Australian Wayne Roycroft, a four-time Olympian and a former chair of the FEI Eventing Committee, stated that he was initially concerned by the video. However, he pointed out the context was a horse that had seriously injured its owner and faced euthanasia. In his view, the video shows Ryan asking the horse forward with consistent aids and no conflicting signals. He noted the horse has since been ridden without incident.
Roycroft, who has known Ryan for 45 to 50 years, was troubled that testimony may have been sought to support a predetermined narrative. He stated that he would trust Ryan with his own horses.
The FEI Tribunal panel that issued the ruling was composed of Canadian Brian Ward, the chairman; Armand Leone of the US. and Yuri Yagi of Japan.