Ole Hummelshøj, who was excluded from Denmark’s riding instructor association after TV 2’s Operation X documentary about Helgstrand Dressage, has returned to Grindsted Rideklub in a paid part-time role.
Avisen Danmark reports that Hummelshøj is back at the riding club in Grindsted, where he was daily leader for close to ten years. His exclusion from Dansk Ride-Instruktør Forening came almost three years ago.
According to the newspaper, he has been hired in a paid position of 8 to 10 hours a week. The role is to support the club’s new daily manager, Ida Larsen. Hummelshøj described his own task as backing up the leadership rather than fronting the club.
He said the club has been marked by factions and disagreement after several years with changing leaders, and that his job is to get everyone pulling in the same direction. He also stated plainly that he will not be teaching. Larsen remains the daily leader and the club’s public face.
Background in the Operation X case
The exclusion followed the two-part Operation X program “Hestemilliardærens hemmeligheder”, broadcast by TV 2 in November 2023. As reported by Avisen Danmark, the documentary was based partly on hidden-camera footage from Helgstrand Dressage’s training center in North Jutland. The training methods shown in the footage drew sharp criticism from a number of experts.
Shortly after the broadcast, Dansk Ride-Instruktør Forening excluded four people connected to the horse company. Hummelshøj, who held a leadership position at the North Jutland business, was among them. He left Helgstrand Dressage at the end of 2024.
Hummelshøj declined to discuss the conditions described in the documentary, saying he has no comments on questions directed at the exclusion or the program’s content. He emphasized that he has neither been charged nor convicted in connection with the case. Per his account, he has never had a case against him and has not been accused of anything.
He also pointed out that the exclusion applied broadly, saying everyone who had been trained at the company was excluded. He would not say whether he has applied to rejoin Dansk Ride-Instruktør Forening. He likewise declined to say whether he considers the exclusion to have been justified.
The 2023 documentary had wider consequences for Danish equestrian sport. Avisen Danmark has previously reported that the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Jacob Jensen, summoned Dansk Ride Forbund to a meeting at the ministry after the program aired. The federation also barred Olympic bronze medalist Andreas Helgstrand following the documentary.
No other outlet has reported on Hummelshøj’s return to Grindsted Rideklub.
