Olympic rider suspended for 18 months maintains whip use caught on video was ‘last-chance rescue’ of a dangerous horse
Australian rider Heath Ryan denied abusing the horse, whom he said was facing euthanasia owing to dangerous behaviour
An Olympic rider caught on video repeatedly hitting a horse has been suspended for 18 months by the FEI Tribunal.
Heath Ryan, 68, was found to have abused the horse – which he consistently denied – and fined CHF 3,000 (£2,700) as a result of the footage, which emerged last summer.
H&H reported at the time that Heath said he was sad about the “awful” video of the session – which he described as part of a “rescue mission”.
This was his case to the FEI Tribunal; he said he was helping a friend with a horse who had become dangerous, and that the footage covered about 60 seconds of a 45-minute “remedial training session undertaken to re-educate the horse out of a demonstrated pattern of dangerous conflict behaviour”.
Heath represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics in dressage and was eventing at four-star level in 2024. He said he had spent over 50 years training and rehabilitating horses, coaching riders from beginners to the Thai Asian Games eventing team, and the Australian Olympic gold medal-winning team.
“He highlighted the longevity of horses under his care, citing specific competition results at advanced ages, and stated that results of this calibre could not be achieved by abusing horses,” the Tribunal report states.
“The person who recorded the videos had left his training establishment prior to releasing them and, before doing so, had signed over two horses to his ownership because they were too difficult for her to ride. It was widely accepted that the motivation for the video release was vindictive, and that this had been made known to the FEI during investigative interviews which had not been disclosed to the Tribunal.”
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Heath said the horse had been sent to three people to back, unsuccessfully. The horse was returned as dangerous, and seriously injured his owner. She approached Heath to train him, adding that if he could not help she would put the horse down.
Heath Ryan said he used equitation science principles
He said he used equitation science principles of negative reinforcement with progressive escalation of aids, that he used the whip carefully, “and he was careful not to cross into a fear state”, and that this horse was a “highly unusual case”.
Character witnesses for Heath included Olympic eventer Boyd Martin, who had known him 30 years, and said he does not abuse horses.
“He had never seen him lose his temper or use anger, force or fear,” the report states. “In his view, the horse in the video was a last-chance rescue of an animal facing destruction after it had attacked its rider, and the respondent succeeded where other trainers had failed.
“He stated that the video was edited and weaponised by someone with a grudge unrelated to horse welfare. The audio appeared exaggerated and likely manipulated.”
Olympic rider Vicki Roycroft agreed, as did vet Belinda Flynn. Former Equestrian Australia chair and Olympian Wayne Roycroft said he was “initially concerned by the video [but] the context was a horse that had seriously injured its owner and faced euthanasia”, and the horse had since been ridden without incident.
“The methodology was successful,” the report states of Heath’s submissions. “The horse responded during the session. It was subsequently re-educated, re-homed and is now ridden successfully. This demonstrated that the use of the whip had not been excessive.”
The FEI case
The FEI said there was no proof the horse had been dangerous.
“On the alleged abuse, the FEI relied on the expert report of Dr Rachel Murray,” the report states.
“Dr Murray concluded that the respondent whipped the horse excessively during the training session… identifying at least 41 whip strikes in approximately 31 seconds in the first video and nine in the second, applied with high force in a forehand technique to a sensitive area of the flank and lumbar region, without release or reward.
“Dr Murray further observed multiple behavioural signs of pain, distress and conflict in the horse, together with signs of left-hindlimb instability and possible lameness or an underlying veterinary issue and concluded that repeatedly whipping a horse that may be in pain is not an acceptable training method and amounts to abuse.
“The FEI submitted that Dr Murray’s report rebutted the respondent’s contention that the use of the whip was justified as the FEI-recognised equitation science methodology, noting that any ethically applied aversive stimulus must be no more than an irritant and that pain should be ruled out before conflict behaviour is addressed through training.”
Ryan Heath did not show anger
The panel found that Heath did not show anger or temper, nor did he escalate beyond hitting the horse on the quarters in response to the evasion and kicking out. The panel agreed that the second video showed that the whip use stopped when the horse went forward, after which the horse was seen trotting around the arena,
“Whatever the horse’s history and the respondent’s undoubted experience, the videos depict aggressive use of the whip to overcome the horse’s resistance,” the report states. “While the respondent may have genuinely believed that his training technique and use of the whip were necessary and appropriate given the context in which the horse came to him and its established resistances, the evidence provided shows that the use of the whip was excessive.”
The panel found abuse was committed, “even if his intentions for rehabilitation were good”, and that the footage brought the FEI and horse sport into disrepute.
In deciding the sanction, the panel considered Heath’s unblemished record over many years, the fact it was one horse on one occasion, “that it appeared to be a measured if misguided attempt to overcome the horse’s kicking resistance”, and the “substantial support expressed by members of the Australian equestrian community”.
It also cited the “gravity of the conduct”, and the fact Heath did not recognise “the harshness of the images depicted in the evidence”.
Heath’s suspension runs from its provisional start last June until this December. He was also ordered to pay the FEI’s 3,000 CHF legal costs.
Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.