The British Horseracing Authority said on Wednesday morning that it has placed an interim suspension on the training licence of Sir Mark Todd, after a video emerged on social media last weekend that appeared to show the former gold medal‑winning equestrian striking a horse with a tree branch.

In the video, Todd is apparently in charge of a schooling session for cross-country horses during which a rider is struggling to get a horse to enter a water jump. The trainer is then seen wielding a tree branch and striking the horse’s hindquarters several times.

Todd rode Charisma to win individual gold medals for New Zealand in three-day eventing at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games and was knighted for his achievements in equestrianism in 2013.

He took out a licence to train a small string of Flat horses in 2019, and has since saddled 14 winners from 133 starters, recording his best seasonal total in 2021 with 13 winners and total prize money of £121,000.

Rose Fandango, unplaced twice in January, has been Todd’s only runner so far in 2022, although Cape Cornwall Rose was among the four‑day entries for a handicap at Lingfield Park on Friday.

In a statement, the BHA said the chair of British racing’s Independent Judicial Panel had approved an application for an “interim suspension” of Todd’s licence. It said: “This interim suspension means that while investigations continue into the circumstances of this incident, Sir Mark will be unable to race horses in Great Britain or internationally.

“The trainer has admitted the individual involved in the video was him, has apologised for his actions and agreed to the imposition of an interim suspension. On Sunday the BHA condemned the video and confirmed that it was looking into the incident.

“The BHA will provide further updates as necessary in due course, though will not be able to comment on the detail of the investigation itself until it is concluded. The interim suspension has been approved on the basis that it can be reviewed at a later date if necessary, on application by either party.”

The BHA’s independent disciplinary panel will also consider a number of charges against Oisin Murphy, the reigning champion jockey on the Flat, at a hearing on Tuesday 22 February. Murphy, who relinquished his licence to “focus on rehabilitation” in December, tested above the permitted limit for alcohol twice in 2021. He was stood down from riding for the day after failing a pre-race breath test at Newmarket on 8 October, while it also emerged in December that he had failed a urine test when riding at Chester on 5 May.

The rider is also charged with breaches of the BHA’s Covid security rules, which allowed racing to resume after lockdown in June 2020. Murphy is alleged to have misled, or attempted to mislead, a BHA official over his location, to have deliberately provided incorrect information to access a racecourse, and with failing to comply “with government requirements and racecourse terms and conditions of entry”.