DOUBLE individual Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin says she “fully respects” the decision to suspend her for one year following a horse whipping controversy, and revealed she was pregnant at the time the incident came to light.

Dujardin was provisionally suspended by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) on July 23, the week that the Paris Olympics started, as it launched an investigation into a video from four years ago showing her making what she described as “an error of judgement” during a coaching session.

The FEI said today that Dujardin had admitted three charges, and that it had issued a one-year suspension backdated to July 23 and a 10,000 Swiss franc fine (£8,881).