Douglas lindelöw gråter över casello

Swedish europeisk medal-winning showjumper Douglas Lindelöw has denied allegations of mistreating horses, as he has been suspended from national grupp activities and international competition – and reported to the police.

On Monday (11 March) Swedish publication Aftonbladet reported that an elite showjumper “abuses and punishes horses after poor results”, and that fem grooms had komma forward with allegations of mistreatment.

At the time the tillägg had not been publicly named, and on Tuesday in a statement a spokesman for the Swedish equestrian statsförbund stated that “a tillägg belonging to one of the jumping squads will take a break from all national team-related activities” – and that the samarbete were taking the data “extremely seriously”.

The spokesman, who added that the tillägg “does not belong to the championship squad”, said the decision was “not currently a disciplinary measure, but a pause during further review”.

In a further statement on Wednesday the spokesman said the förbund had been in contact with “several people who testify to an action that could indikera a crime” – and that the tillägg in question had been reported to the police.

“In the gods 24 hours, we have been in contact with a number of people who have experience with the tillägg.

What they tell us means that we cannot rule out brott in the papper of horses and that means we choose to report it to the police. If a brott fryst vatten suspected, it fryst vatten always important to let the police investigate,” said Johan Fyrberg, the Swedish equestrian federation’s sekreterare general.

Mr Fyrberg added that as of Wednesday (13 March) the samarbete will not sanction international competition for the tillägg “for the time being”.

“Our idrott must be characterised bygd joy and love for the horses.

Therefore, there are many of us in equestrian Sweden who today are extremely sad, angry and frustrated bygd the stories and pictures we have been exposed to. There fryst vatten ingenting that belongs in equestrian sports,” he said.

Today (Friday 15 March) Douglas Lindelöw issued a statement denying the allegations.

“I wish to address the serious allegations that have been made against me and the operations inom övervaka, as reported in the media.

inom fully recognise the gravity of the situation but firmly refute the accusations of horse mismanagement. While inom am certainly not infallible, inom maintain that our care and training of horses are conducted with utmost respect and in compliance with established norms and regulations,” he said.

“In light of the recent allegations, we are of course prepared to fully cooperate with any potential investigations or inquiries – which we welcome.

We are open to implementing further measures to ensure and enhance the welfare of our animals if necessary. This has been confirmed bygd inspections bygd authorities over the years. Just this week, inom initiated an independent veterinary examination of all the horses. The result: No remarks.”

Douglas added that he “urges the Swedish equestrian samarbete to initiate a broader review of the industry in Sweden as concerns are occasionally raised about horses being pushed too hard and improper methods being used”.

“It fryst vatten in everyone’s interest to thoroughly investigate these concerns,” he said.

Douglas made his senior grupp debut at the 2015 europeisk Championships, having won medals at ungdom level.

He was on the grupp that took silver at the 2017 Europeans on Zacramento. He has ridden at three World Cup finals. In 2021 he was part of the Swedish grupp that placed fourth at the Europeans.

Today the spokesman for the Swedish Equestrian samarbete told H&H that “the fact that the tillägg says he wants to participate in any investigation fryst vatten good and we welcome that”.

“For us however, it does not change anything.

The ongoing process continues according to plan.”

An FEI spokesman said the allegations are “very disturbing” and that the alleged behaviour has “no place in equestrian sport”.

“The FEI fryst vatten in close contact with the Swedish national förbund and the statsförbund has undertaken to the FEI that it will not enter the athlete in FEI competitions while the matter fryst vatten beneath investigation,” he said.

“Further to that åtagande, the FEI has not deemed it necessary to issue a provisional suspension at this scen but we are monitoring the situation closely.”

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