Modern Pentathalon

[Applecore1]

Re: the pictures of Saint Boy UIPM posted on facebook that Virginia_Horse_Mom linked to yesterday. UIPM said he was home and healthy but “fatigued from competition”.

Well they definitely needed the daily paper, because unless some tragic blight has affected the trees in Japan this summer causing them to drop all their leaves…that picture is from the dead of winter. Which also explains why he looks a tad scruffy.

Has there been any discussion on what time of day they ran the riding phase? All the Equestrian events went early in the day or late at night to avoid the heat, but the announcers mentioned that they were doing the pentathlon all in 1 day in 1 location (the rugby arena) - does that mean the horses were going in the heat of the afternoon?

[ThreeWishes]

@JER I understand your bristle at some of the suggestions/feedback. You are very familiar with the mechanics of this sport. And likely know when things work well as opposed to the times everything goes pear shaped and don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. No one wants a PETA-esque reaction to what happened. As actual equestrians I think it’s a visceral response to what was on display at the games. Culture change is hard and often glacially slow. You’re right. No horses died. In truth I think the riders lives are more in danger. And of course horse welfare is paramount. No one wants to injure or scar a horse because it’s overfaced and fried. Please don’t leave this discussion. Your input is very valuable. And if memory serves you know very well the inherent risk of competing these animals we all love.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

I think someone said that the Pentathlon jumping went at 5, instead of later (as they did for one of the other jumping disciplines)…

It was also part of the welfare concerns. Add in that there was no cooling tent for the horses, and each horse had two trips around, and that the footing on that rugby field was clearly BAD in front of each jump by the end of that phase… it all indicates a deficit of care concerning horse welfare at the Tokyo games.

[trubandloki]

Does the governing body have a system for sanctioning participants for unsportsmanlike behavior? Could this rider still get in trouble in some way (even though they were not removed from the competition when it happened)?

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

Oh wow. There are a number of TikTok videos trending now that show compilations of rough moments from Tokyo

Here is one from the men’s rounds.

https://www.tiktok.com/@rosiedanecker93/video/6993959017156594949?sender_device=mobile&sender_web_id=6994873999248066054&is_from_webapp=v1&is_copy_url=0

[sascha]

@trubandloki

Does the governing body have a system for sanctioning participants for unsportsmanlike behavior? Could this rider still get in trouble in some way (even though they were not removed from the competition when it happened)?

The governing body thinks it’s totally ok for a competitor to hop back on a horse that has fallen without so much as a once over. I hardly think they give a hoot about a little bit of unsportsmanlike behaviour.

[sascha]

@ThreeWishes

You’re right. No horses died.

Hardly a high bar.

[trubandloki]

@Virginia_Horse_Mom, the second rider who fell off in that video was doing the right thing before the video moved to another blooper. He walked up the horse and was petting its neck.

I do not find people falling off to be a huge red flag. It happens even to good full time rider types.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

And … more from the women’s side, that I missed. Two other horses who crashed through fences.

Does anyone have a total count on the number of times horses crashed through fences during Pentathlon? And then how many of them continued on course after this, without any sort of check?

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

That’s fair enough Trubs.

To me, the sheer number of riders falling off at this level is what is alarming. Also… the continuing on course. I have a child who rides and jumps now. And the culture with jumping (and all sports) is different these days because of increased concussion awareness. I think Pentathlon needs to catch up with that.

[ThreeWishes]

Yes I understand it’s unsettling. Please don’t misunderstand me. I do think the riding displayed was piss poor and if it were my horse I’d be livid. I just wonder if there’s a place that can be found to showcase this sport while at the same time change the culture of its attitude towards the horses handling/welfare.
And if not then then so be it. Trust me the more videos I watch the more my stomach clenches.

[trubandloki]

VHM, I do agree with both of your points. Like in every other sport, if you splat you are done.

[sascha]

Not until attitudes change and by the looks of it they are not going to change from the inside. JER is an example - on the one hand posting videos of the horrors and on the other stating that meaningful changes can’t happen without ruining the sport and oh, btw, it’s a great sport and all you haters know nothing. Modern Pentathlon isn’t going to morph into a sport with a respectable equestrian component with that sort of attitude.

The change will come from outside the sport - from venues and competitions like the Olympics refusing to host the sport until it is ssqueaky clean. And sadly from loud mouthed organizations like PETA.

[trubandloki]

I think JER has some good points. Just because JER is on the inside does not mean they are the enemy here.

I do wish there was some way that these athletes had to prove they had some riding skills past just being crazy brave and lots of muscles.

I personally think one of the best options for making this safer for all is to lower the jumps.

[MHM]

Oh. My. Goodness. That was horrendous.

I hope all those horses are getting at least a week off with daily spa treatments and chiropractor visits.

[TwiSedai]

The more I look into MP, the more it actually sounds like it would be so much fun. If I was in better shape I would totally want to try it, maybe I will one day if I can ever get active again. If they can just get the organization to place more importance on the horses, and on riding correctly, it’d be fun to watch.

I don’t want them to have to take the horses away. I want them to make those people have to learn horsemanship, horse care, effective riding, better rules and enforcement of rules to keep everyone safe.

I bet they learn how to take care of their other equipment. Maybe it should be a requirement to go through some kind of horsemanship class before you can compete (if it’s not already). Learn good care practices, horse behavior, handle different horses, on top of riding lessons that include more in depth education on flatwork and jumping. Might even be fun to have some sort of test where you spend the camp with one horse and at the end you have to present your horse’s quirks, likes, dislikes, etc. Make the competitors see these are living, breathing animals with their own personalities. If the competitors can’t handle it, they shouldn’t be competing in the sport. Probably not feasible everywhere, but it sounds fun to me. Horse camp for adults! Just something more than the occasional riding lesson.

At the very least, it would be nice if the authority figures that have the power to make the calls to stop dangerous riding or remove horses that are struggling would do that.

[trubandloki]

@TwiSedai

The more I look into MP, the more it actually sounds like it would be so much fun.

I agree with this.
I think about doing Tet in pony club, but I do not run or swim so that would be a huge fail… But it looks so fun.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

I can’t seem to get the link to the women’s video to work. But two more, previously unseen instances of horses crashing THROUGH jumps during the women’s rounds, after they were put into awkward spots with the riders pushing the horses to go, no matter what.

It’s one thing if it happens once or twice… accidents happen when jumping. But this happened OVER AND OVER to these horses at Tokyo. Then they would continue on course. And in many cases, horses who had been crashed through jumps were used again later by rider #2 in each division.

It all just boggles the mind.

[MHM]

The part that boggles my mind the most is that they can continue after the fall of a horse or rider.

Even if they are (very obviously) completely unconcerned about the welfare of the horses, you would think someone might have realized by now that the riders could be seriously injured from a fall without realizing it in the moment.

Some of those wrecks in the men’s video looked pretty spectacularly bad. It’s not as if they were just sliding out of the saddle and landing on their feet on the ground.

[jvanrens]

@trubandloki

@Jealoushe

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

I am on a computer.

I can see it fine on my phone without signing in and no app.