Modern Pentathalon

[TwiSedai]

One thing that drove me crazy watching the German girl trying to get Saint to go was that if she had just stopped for a few seconds, let him take a breath, gave him some scritches and said a few reassuring words to him, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he then went forward. It still would have been an awful jumping round, but it might have helped him some. I wanted to reach through the screen so badly to tell him he is SUCH a GOOD boy and everything is okay and he gets all the carrots no matter what.

If she had been on my mare, she would have been dumped on the ground before you could say “Bye medal”. They just have no idea how saintly these horses were.

[trubandloki]

@TwiSedai

They just have no idea how saintly these horses were.

Ding Ding Ding!!! And we have a winner.

[173north]

I think it would be interesting and safer to make the format a pattern with dressage, competitive trail obstacles, and a handful of jumps. Do a shortened first or second level dressage test, cross a little suspension bridge, rein back through a corner, open a gate, then jump 4 jumps of about 1m. You can be hypothetically ‘behind enemy lines’ and navigating obstacles without the obstacles being 1.20m jumps.

Maybe there could be ways to reward sophisticated riders (final jump with a high option like in a hunter derby, option to do a flying change vs simple change in the dressage, etc) that would not put weaker riders in danger.

I feel that would still be a test of horsemanship on an unfamiliar horse, rather than a test of sheer nerve and luck. It would be kinder to the horses and would open up the pool of horses to be used. Can’t do a turn on the forehand or get your horse across a little water obstacle? No points for you for that movement, but you won’t fry your horse’s brain or break your neck.

[Angela_Freda]

Same if they’d had an opportunity to give him more time between bad rides, or a school with a better rider between them

[Brown_Derby]

@trubandloki

I am watching some of the London 2012 video that was posted above and I am enjoying the commentator. He is saying what most here are thinking, that the riders do not prepare well enough for this phase and how the horses are trying so hard with out any support from the riders who do not train enough.

That commentator was as saintly as those horses. Thank heavens it was not some idiot like Bob Costas, who would have thought it all a joke, as he did all Olympic equestrian coverage.

I’m still trying to determine how that Mexican rider managed to cling to her mount’s belly and go over the jump under the horse. (But do not want to watch the video again.) Never seen anything like it in my life.

I cannot believe this ‘sport’ was not been changed since Beijing. I still remember those wrecks, the likes of which I’ve never seen. That guy crashing right through the stone wall, the Chinese rider who flipped his mount over on him less than 60 seconds after entering the arena. He was within inches of being seriously hurt or killed.

[trubandloki]

Somewhere in one of these threads someone quoted the leader of the governing body of the Pentathlon as saying that they did have more poles down than usual this year…

I just watched the whole video of the 2012 women’s riding and of 36 riders ONE, only one, rider had no rails down. Three riders had two rails down.

It scares me that this year is so bad because it is worse than that…

I will say that most of the women seemed to pat their horse at the end and even if they did not end where they wanted to end, they seemed positive as they left the arena.

[Mara]

@supershorty628 The rider was behaving as though the gold medal was already hers, when there were still two events left after the showjumping! Maybe it was, but that kind of ego doesn’t look good on anyone.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@BWP

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eventingukfb/permalink/4139922392727608/

Not sure if the link will work, but a short video from this year’s MP World Cup. This is not just an ‘Olympic’ problem

I think this video came from an Instagram post that went up back in May. The text of the post accompanying this video is interesting, and on point…

@jersporthorse

Also noteworthy… if I’m reading it correctly, the post and video on Instagram has gotten 98,000 views! That’s WILD. A PR disaster for this sport… and from what I can tell… the folks at the international governing body have themselves to blame for it.

[trubandloki]

Instagram is a platform that does not allow non-users to see the content. Hmpf.

[173north]

@trubandloki

Instagram is a platform that does not allow non-users to see the content. Hmpf.

Video is of rider getting a very, very, very long spot, horse swims through the jump and falls, and is very slow to get up. Once horse is up, rider immediately climbs back on, walks a few steps and canters off to the next fence. No one checked the horses’ legs or body at all for injury, walked him to check for soundness, etc.

Post text:

Modern pentathlon has a horse welfare problem. The UIPM rules allow a rider to get back on the horse and continue after a horse fall, even when the crash is this bad and even when the horse is reluctant to get to its feet. In this incident that happened earlier today at the World Cup Final, no one checks out this horse to see if he’s ok. The rider just gets on and goes to the next jump. Not surprisingly, the horse refuses to jump again and the rider is eventually excused from the ring.

What you see here goes against all modern standards of horse welfare. In an FEI competition, in most national equestrian federations, when a horse falls in competition, the rider cannot get back on and continue. This is basic horse welfare. To get back on and continue is considered ‘abuse of horse’.

In recent years, national pentathlon federations have proposed changes to the UIPM rules to align modern pentathlon with FEI standards of horse welfare. The UIPM has always rejected those proposals. Clearly, horse welfare is not a priority for the UIPM. The result is ugly scenes like this one.

I hope the horse is okay and is given the time and care to recover from this.

Modern pentathlon is a truly wonderful sport but this disregard for horse welfare must stop now.

ETA: do not attack the rider. She is acting within the rules. Direct your anger and ideas to @theuipm who makes these rules. Thank you.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

Thanks for sharing the text of the post. I’m terrible with Insta, and couldn’t figure out how to copy and paste it.

Side note… I think the account is that of a well known COTH poster. I’m not sure if she still uses the forums. She’s got several Insta posts about this mess though, and is a really well educated voice when talking about this sport and what needs to change. It seems like the officials, coaches, and the international governing body are the root of the horse welfare problems. Really sad.

[Event_Horse]

@Horselove5

Correct. Keep in mind that you’re replying to someone who most probably has no idea of SJ to make such a comment lol, especially in international settings.

I am VERY familiar with show jumping on an international level. Yes, I know the riders have pony tails. They are usually neat pony tails or braided. The pentathalon rider I referred to was just sloppy about her whole appearance and her riding matched that - she crashed through one jump with a fall and fell off a second time. The way I was taught, you put in a neat appearance out of respect to the sport and judges.

[Jealoushe]

@Mara

The rider was behaving as though the gold medal was already hers, when there were still two events left after the showjumping! Maybe it was, but that kind of ego doesn’t look good on anyone.

Yes! I watched the man who rode my horse almost lose the gold because he was a terrible shot…he had a huge lead but missing so many targets the lead closed…and it was a big race to the finish. Super exciting, but nothing is certain!

[Event_Horse]

@Thames_Pirate

ust because you didn’t see lather doesn’t mean it wasn’t there; I watched every eventing XC and SJ, a great many dressage tests, and a few jumper rounds. There were definitely lathered horses.

That was my point - it wasn’t seen = the horses were being taken care of by their grooms. That was not the case in the pentathalon. As I stated, they needed to be sponged off. There are grooms that do carry small water buckets. I’ve been a groom too.

[Jealoushe]

Thats @JERS insta post. She also had her horses used at the 2015 Pan Ams.

[Jealoushe]

Thats not true, you have to view it on a computer though.

[trubandloki]

@Jealoushe

Thats not true, you have to view it on a computer though.

I am on a computer.

[GoneAway]

To further prove the UIPM’s incompetence, the photo of the alleged Saint Boy wasn’t even taken recently. Note the state of the trees…looks like winter. Not sure what they thought they would prove with a photo anyway?

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I personally feel that since the UIPM has declined expert help from the FEI in the past AND failed to make any improvements in the Olympic horse welfare/rider qualification standards, they cannot be trusted to fix this now. The fact they referred to the ridden portion as a “dramatic spectacle” and that it what makes their sport great proves they’re not taking any of this seriously.

I think horses should be pulled from the competition entirely and replaced with some kind of equipment that they can’t physically/mentally scar. Unless the IOC is willing to force FEI standards and approvals on the UIPM, and babysit to enforce, it’s just not worth it.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

I figured it was her

She was raising an alarm on the horse welfare issues back in May… that’s when she first posted that video. But it’s gone viral in the last 2 days.

According to her posts… criticism falls firmly on leadership at world pentathlon for not amending rules in truly BASIC ways, to better align with FEI rules and regs concerning horse and rider welfare. Also… officials need to enforce rules. Annika should have been eliminated before she even got started with her round at Tokyo. Current pentathlon rules are a bit vague concerning sportsmanship and athlete co duct, as well as horse abuse… but it’s clear the officials COULD have eliminated her for the crying and her use of the whip before the round even started…

Her Instagram offers a really informative critique of what we are all watching now, with horror and curiosity. I actually feel sad for the people that love pentathlon, love horses and are actually good competent riders… their governing body is a disaster.

[173north]

This is an interesting piece from a UK Pony Clubber turned pentathlete turned pure show jumper who has a lot of insight into how the horses are viewed and steps for the governing body/sport to take.

One thing I didn’t know - Great Britain doesn’t let athletes compete in the riding phase until they pass a riding assessment which is apparently tough. And both the men and women’s gold were won by Great Britain this year.

Should Showjumping Be Part Of Modern Pentathlon? - EquiMarket