Editor’s note: This story was updated Sept. 11 to include additional information from Andrew McConnon and the USEA Foundation.

A pair of videos posted on social media Saturday showing a rider, allegedly five-star eventer Andrew McConnon, apparently hitting horses in the head from the saddle during training rides are putting public pressure on the sport’s governing bodies to act upon a case that has been in their hands since May, when former grooms for the rider submitted video and photographic evidence of what they believed were abusive riding practices.

McConnon, Southern Pines, North Carolina, who competed over the weekend at the Defender Burghley CCI5*-L (England) using a Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant that was awarded to him through the U.S. Eventing Association Foundation, appears to be the rider in the videos and close-up stills released with it. Since their release over the weekend, he has already been dropped by a handful of sponsors. 

A former groom who worked for McConnon over a period of years said Monday that she and two other former employees reported him to both the Fédération Equestre Internationale and U.S. Equestrian Federation in May. In making their report, they provided the FEI with materials including videos and photographic evidence of what they felt was abusive behavior on the part of the rider. 

“We are currently investigating the matter and can therefore not provide any further information or comments at this point in time,” an FEI spokesperson said Monday via email.

The former groom, who requested to remain anonymous, said the FEI’s investigation has taken longer than they expected, which has caused them to worry about the welfare of horses in his care.

She emphasized that she did not, however, release the videos shared on social media over the weekend, adding that she did not know the person who shared those videos, which are different from the ones she submitted to the FEI.

She said she and the other former grooms felt, particularly in the aftermath of the Charlotte Dujardin scandal, that it was best to let the FEI work its way through an investigation without making the videos public.

A USEF spokeswoman confirmed that McConnon was reported to them but said the nature of the allegations was outside the federation’s jurisdiction, which—until Dec. 1, when an extraordinary rule change passed in June goes into effect—is limited to investigating only actions that occur in conjunction with a competition.

“USEF takes all reports of equine abuse very seriously and prioritizes the safeguarding of horse welfare,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “We received an anonymous report at the beginning of the summer regarding U.S. eventing athlete, Andrew McConnon, and were sent materials showing abusive behaviors shortly after the report was made. 

“After determining USEF did not have jurisdiction over the matter because it did not involve misconduct at a USEF competition, USEF promptly referred the matter to the FEI, where it is under investigation,” the statement continued. “The FEI’s jurisdiction and ability to pursue disciplinary action is broader regarding reported incidents of animal abuse occurring outside of licensed competitions. This matter is under the jurisdiction of the FEI and USEF will enforce any disciplinary action taken.”

She noted that the rule change going into effect on Dec. 1 will enable USEF to act on such cases in the future.

“This rule broadens the jurisdiction USEF can exercise over reports of abuse that occur away from USEF competition,” she wrote. “It also provides an updated description of what constitutes unethical treatment of a horse and provides definitions for both ‘participants’ who are bound by the rule and a ‘covered horse,’ expanding the ability of USEF to protect horses.”

U.S. Eventing Association leaders said they only became aware of “allegations of equine abuse and were provided links to videos of a rider striking a horse” on Saturday evening, after the videos were released publicly.

“Horse welfare is a core principle of our educational organizations, and we take this very seriously,” read a statement jointly released Monday by USEA President Lou Leslie, USEA Foundation Chair Hilary Miskoe and USEA CEO Rob Burke. “The USEA staff notified the United States Equestrian (USEF), the governing body of U.S. eventing, within two hours of being provided those videos.

“The USEA will continue to cooperate with the USEF and FEI, the governing bodies that hold the responsibility for investigations and disciplinary sanctions under the rules of our sport,” the statement added. “USEA leadership is listening to your concerns while we gather more information, and we will follow up with more details as soon as possible.”

The Broussard family, which funds the grant McConnon used to travel to Burghley, posted a statement on its Rebecca Farm Facebook page, acknowledging that they are aware of the allegations against one of the grant recipients.

“The Broussard Family has committed to investing in the sport of eventing and its athletes for many years and we are deeply shocked and saddened by this information,” the statement read. “We do not condone horse abuse in any capacity. The actions committed by the rider in question in no way align with the values the Broussard family believes are synonymous with Eventing and horsemanship. At the time of any rider’s application for a Rebecca Broussard Developing Rider Grant, if there are any open investigations or noted violations of any kind (such as a yellow card), the applicant is immediately deemed ineligible. At the time this grant was administered through the USEA Foundation in December of 2023, no information had been made available to us that would disqualify this rider in any way from being a recipient.”

Meanwhile, Plain Dealing Farm Eventing in Scottsville, Virginia, which is the base of Lucia and Benita Strini, confirmed on social media Monday that one of the horses shown in the videos belongs to them, and in their post named McConnon as the rider. 

“We have been caught completely by surprise and are truly devastated to learn of this behavior. As some people may have guessed, one of the videos released is one of our horses,” the post read. “This is the way we learned about this—seeing this video released on social media. We had absolutely no idea that our horses were being treated in such a way. There has been a failure to protect these horses and it is unacceptable. We aren’t as vocal on social media but we are taking action to rectify this situation. Thank you to those of you who took the steps to bring this to light, thank you for trying to protect all the horses including ours. We love them so deeply and are so thankful they are safe at home with us.”

Correct Connect, World Equestrian Brands and Gallops Saddlery all announced Sunday that their companies will no longer sponsor McConnon. Equine Bonnets followed suit Monday. 

McConnon said Monday afternoon that he’d just returned home from England and would “be in touch as soon as I can with a statement.” On Wednesday he said that he is cooperating fully with the FEI investigation.

The USEA Foundation also put out a statement on Tuesday evening regarding McConnon’s selection for the Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant, which explained the grant review process “includes in person interviews, rider subcommittee input, reports from officials, and review of competitive records by a group of volunteer reviewers.”

“As part of the grant application process, any rider with open investigations or violations, including yellow cards, is automatically disqualified from consideration,” the statement read. “At the time this grant was awarded in December 2023, there were no records or available information that would have rendered the rider ineligible for the grant.”