“Disciplinary measures against me are unfair”: disqualified rider Kostygova said that she was “framed by envious people” (3 photos + 2 videos)
Category: Terrible (all news), Animals
9 April 2024
After publishing a video of her beating a horse, the athlete began to be harassed on social networks. The rider will not leave the matter to chance and wants to deal with the offenders in the police. Meanwhile, Kostygova had shown an unrestrained disposition towards animals before, for which she had already been punished. 
At a competition held in Yaroslavl, Ksenia Kostygova hit a reluctant horse several times. Because all performances are recorded on video; this recording quickly appeared on the Internet, whose users called on the Equestrian Federation to pay attention to the unsportsmanlike behavior of the rider.
A message appeared that Ksenia Kostygova was disqualified for 2 years. She is prohibited not only from participating in competitions, but also from engaging in any other activities related to equestrian sports. The rider will not be able to conduct master classes, attend training, etc.
The athlete herself considers this decision of the Equestrian Federation unfair.
“I do not consider my actions to be correct, but it is impossible to identify me as an individual in the video, therefore all disciplinary measures against me, which are based only on what is written on the Internet, are unfair. I believe that a body like the FSSR should not follow the lead of the crowd. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will deal with the people who deliberately set me up. These are some kind of envious people. I know [these] people, and I also know that they did this on purpose, and that they have something against me, although I haven’t communicated with anyone for a long time.”
It’s strange what kind of envious people we can talk about, if Kostygova behaved in a similar way before. There is another video online - after that incident, disciplinary measures were also taken against the athlete.
After the video was made public, the rider began to be harassed on social networks.
The comments that the athlete receives cannot be called friendly. Kostygova does not intend to leave this just like that, and is going to contact the police.
"
I believe that taking the words of people on the Internet and making any verdicts based on a piece of video is unprofessional. We contacted [the police] about inciting hatred and bullying. Now my accounts are under spam attack. I receive health threats that I should be beaten, killed, etc. and so on. In general, all sorts of things. The most humane human race in the world. Moreover, no one asked me personally why this happened and so on. Well, if people believe everything they write on the Internet, I’m very sorry,”
- she told the publication “Rise”.
She will not challenge the disqualification decision, and will continue to care for her horses during the suspension.
