Charlotte Dujardin was once the widely recognised as the face of British dressage events on the stage, earning one of the highest honours from for her services to equestrian sports.

But in a matter of 24 hours, her world came crashing down following a video leak that would ruin her chances of

In 2012, Dujardin was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours after her success at the London 2012 Olympics. She was then upgraded to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) four years later for her services to equestrian sports.

She was likely to be on track to receive a damehood if she brought home another medal at the 2024 Games in Paris. That was until July, just days before she was due to compete for Team GB, when a video clip emerged of

The Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) said that they received footage of Dujardin "engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare" and moved to immediately ban her from competing.

Dujardin was provisionally suspended for six months by the FEI on July 23 after "engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of animal welfare".

A day later, the decorated dressage Olympian withdrew from the Paris Games, admitting that she had made an "error of judgement" during a coaching session four years ago.

Dujardin, a three-time Olympic champion and six-time medallist, wrote in a statement: "I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors."

It came as a huge shock to British sport as Dujardin, with three gold medals, a silver and two bronze, was celebrated as Britain's joint-most decorated female Olympian. Her medal haul has only been matched by former track cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, who won five golds and a silver in her illustrious career before retiring in 2024.

Another medal would've seen her leapfrog Kenny and claim the spot for her own, with reports suggesting she was in line at Whitehall for a damehood on King Charles' New Year's Honours list.

But pulling out of the Olympics would end her chances of adding to her total - and there was more bad news to come for the 39-year-old.

On December 5, the FEI announced that Dujardin would be banned for one year and fined £8,886 (10,000 Swiss Francs). As her ban is backdated, Dujardin will be able to compete again from July 24, 2025.

British Equestrian and British Dressage also backed the suspension, preventing Dujardin from competing in national competition or training events during the same period. UK Sport confirmed that Dujardin is ineligible to receive public funding and publicly funded benefits while she serves her suspension and any future funding beyond the FEI sanction "will be reviewed".

Dujardin said she would "fully respect" the verdict and issued another grovelling apology, describing her exile from dressgae as "one of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life".

Despite initial reports suggesting she could be stripped of her CBE and OBE titles, the British rider is yet to relinquish either title. But given the public backlash after the video was releashed, it would be extremely unlikely for the King to now hand her a damehood.

Instead, the Enfield native must now focus her efforts on rehabilitating her image in the public eye when she makes her highly-anticipated return to show jumping in the future.