Edward Gal has been cleared of cruelty in a legal case with PETA ©Getty Images

Dutch dressage rider Edward Gal has been cleared of animal cruelty for a second time in a legal case involving the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over the alleged use of an illegal manoeuvre in equestrian.

Gal was acquitted in court in Aachen in Germany after the dispute with the German branch of PETA, and is now considering legal action in return.

This was linked to the 2015 European Championships, in which Gal claimed gold while riding Glock's Undercover, allegedly using the rollkur.

Rollkur is a hyperflexion of the horse's neck and is regarded as an illegal practice defined as "flexion of the horse's neck achieved through aggressive force" by the International Equestrian Federation, which has banned the move.

Gal won the gold medal with his Dutch team mates at the Championships.

The Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) said the charge was "dismissed as completely unfounded and the judge immediately acquitted Edward of all charges against him".

"It was the second time in a row that PETA had tried to sue Edward," said the KNHS.

"In 2018, just before the World Equestrian Games in the US, PETA filed the exact same complaint. 

"The case was then immediately dropped.

Germany’s Annika Schleu infamously lost the lead in modern pentathlon when her horse Saint-Boy refused to jump at the Olympics ©Getty Images
Germany’s Annika Schleu infamously lost the lead in modern pentathlon when her horse Saint-Boy refused to jump at the Olympics ©Getty Images

"This year, just before the Tokyo Olympics, PETA once again tried to put Edward in a bad light by filing another false accusation against him. 

"Once again, the animal rights organisation backed down in court. 

"All allegations against Edward have been completely disproved by witnesses and hard facts. 

"Edward cannot be blamed at all and has been cleared of all blame."

PETA added that its motto in part is that "animals are not there to entertain us", and that it works against "speciesism".

"It is a milestone that an animal welfare case with a prominent perpetrator after more than six years - and despite considerable resistance also within the judiciary - even comes to court," said PETA's Edmund Haferbeck.

Animal cruelty has been a controversial issue within equestrian sport, with the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) planning to remove riding as a discipline of modern pentathlon in light of horse abuse controversy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Several horses refused to jump, including Saint-Boy, ridden by Germany’s Annika Schleu, who was leading the competition entering the riding event. 

German coach Kim Raisner was sent home following video footage showing her punching Saint-Boy, while Schleu was criticised for repeatedly whipping the distressed horse.