FEI Suspends Australian Olympian Heath Ryan for 18 Months

Australian Olympian Heath Ryan has been suspended for 18 months by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports following an investigation into horse abuse. Australian Associated Press reported that the global governing body also fined the dressage and eventing rider after its tribunal found that his conduct breached the sport’s rules.

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The FEI said its tribunal concluded that Ryan had committed horse abuse under Article 142.1 of its General Regulations. The governing body said the conduct brought both the FEI and equestrian sport into disrepute and breached its code governing horse welfare. The decision was announced on Friday, according to the report.

Ryan’s suspension has been applied retrospectively from June 12, 2025, the date his provisional suspension began. It is scheduled to expire on December 12, 2026. The 68-year-old was also fined 3,000 Swiss francs and ordered to contribute a further 3,000 Swiss francs toward the FEI’s legal costs.

The case followed the circulation on social media last year of a video that appeared to show Ryan repeatedly whipping a horse. Equestrian Australia suspended him after the footage emerged. The FEI then conducted the investigation that led to the tribunal sanction announced this week.

Ryan represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. When Equestrian Australia imposed its suspension in June 2025, he published a statement defending his actions. Ryan said the six-year-old horse had attacked its owner and was being taken to a knackery before he attempted to determine whether it could be saved. That explanation was Ryan’s account of the circumstances surrounding the footage.

Ryan also said the video had been posted by a former employee whom he described as unhappy. He later shared separate footage that he said showed the horse doing well in a new home. Those statements formed part of his public response, but the FEI tribunal subsequently ruled that the conduct shown amounted to horse abuse under its regulations. The sanction keeps Ryan suspended from FEI activity for the remainder of the stated term.