It wasn’t in the warm up, which was not broadcast. It was after the horse entered the arena but before it started its round.
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Seriously the excuses made for that crap show are crazy. Obviously this sport sees the horses as equipment. In no other facet of this sport do the Olympians rely on their equipment to save their less than stellar ass. It’s wrong.
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Yes, she hit the horse repeatedly, and yes, over the course of the minute it may have been 15 times–I didn’t count–but only one round of hits was more than the standard 3 (and no, I don’t approve of her use of the crop that often), and none were with any real force. And while she definitely kicked with her spurs, she didn’t pony kick any harder than most average riders after a stop. I DO think her seat was the problem, and the use of the crop was pretty frequent, but the only reason I would call it excessive is that it served no real purpose, had no effect, and only escalated the situation. Had the horse gone forward after any one use of the crop at that point, we wouldn’t be discussing it. Same with her use of the spurs–nothing we haven’t all seen a trainer do on a horse after a stop or when he naps. I have certainly seen far worse at many a lesson barn when a recalcitrant pony quits with a kid. Though I do agree that a three-hit rule might be worthwhile for the sport if they are going to keep the riding portion in it.
And no, she does NOT ride with a tight rein. Seriously, watch the actual showjumping for comparison (I literally had both on at the same time). Seat, yes–both a product of her emotions and of the type of riding they all do and far from the hardest in that regard–but not her hands. She has a contact, but it is not a tight hold.
I did not see the warm up, and I did not see or hear that the coach punched the horse in the face during warm up. I think that is a rumour mill comment; the coach punched the horse in the flank as it entered the arena–and yes, it was a hot mess there, but the owner and rider had predicted that after the prior rider finished, so it is not indicative of a poor warm up. We don’t actually have any clear evidence of what the warm up was like (or is ever like in this very strange sport), so that’s all I can say on that one.
And yes, the horse was put in an untenable situation for most horses. But I would argue that many of those horses were because that’s what the sport demands. And no, I am not condoning it. Just commenting on what I saw.
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Would you let someone ride your personal horse in the same manner? Remember this is a freaking Olympic competition. They are supposed to ride as well as they do the other phases. Not rely on a saint that they pull or kick or spur to oblivion.
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Of course not, but again, I am not making excuses for the sport–only commenting on what was and wasn’t. The German rider was absolutely making the situation worse, but she wasn’t abusive as much as uneducated. I do let my niece ride my horse sometimes–but not over big fences. But her uneducated bouncing at the trot is not exactly comfortable for my sensitive mare; it’s not abuse, though. She is just uneducated. It’s the sport that sucks.
And yes, they ARE supposed to rely on a saintly horse, which is precisely why I don’t like the competition. Some of them WERE educated riders, while others were absolute disasters, and while that showed to a point in the scores, it was not truly reflected.
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Fair enough. Thank you for your thoughts. In my estimation the only way this sport progresses is to treat the horse with as much reverence as you do the other equipment you rely on to win. Stop assuming the Saint of a horse will overcome your errors. Just like you wouldn’t think a gun would fix your bad aim.
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Yep. The sport needs changing. Own horse or no more horses. And the FEI should be involved in its governance because the FEI, for all its faults, treats the horses as living beings and not as equipment.
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Agreed. Cheers @Thames_Pirate. Nice to have a civil discussion about heated topics. Thank you.
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Back at you!
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Ingrid Klimke has spoken out about the urgent need to change the sport: https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/ingrid-klimke-calls-for-pentathlon-rule-change-after-controversial-scenes-757521/amp
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Holy CRAP. The video made me angry–this is an OLYMPIAN? I know is a multi-event sport, but for heaven’s sakes, my beat up, overweight, post-brain surgery, post-2 back surgeries, medically retired, no longer able to get in the saddle butt would have done better on that horse. I may not have been able to jump the course, but I could have at least gotten him to calm down and go forward. I kept saying to myself while watching her, “Let go. Let go! LET GO!!!”
It reminded me–vividly–of the woman who used to give lessons to the younger kids at my home facility, complete with the red crying face. There were always kids on “Yeah, whatever kid” lesson horses that just stood there and ignored foot kicks and crop shoulder taps.
I rarely get angry watching equestrian sports of any kind, but this 37 second clip had me seething.
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Good GOD. What a shit show. None of those riders have any business jumping 4’. This needs an overhaul in a big way. As others have said, there are so many ways to fix this- bring their own horses, replace the phase with cycling, etc. If this is supposed to resemble a currier, wouldn’t having an equestrian endurance phase make more sense? Why jumping?
I’ve been asked my friends and relatives about the punching the horse thing and that looked like nothing. I’m way more concerned by the crop and spur usage, and hauling on his mouth. I thought it looked pretty bad.
I do feel a little bad for her- it was not ALL her fault and it sounds like the sport kinda sets them up for failure here.
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The NY Post even wrote about it 
Noteworthy passage
“There were signs of trouble ahead as Schleu’s horse Saint Boy bucked and misbehaved during the warmup and soon after was refusing jumps.
With each refusal Schleu’s frustration grew, the German finally exploding with a scream that echoed through the empty stadium as tears poured down her face.
Her coach urged her to hit the horse. Raisner’s orders to “really hit it, hit,” were heard live back in Germany, triggering a wave of criticism.”
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The big problem is this is very, very wrong for horse welfare. And the general public thinks this is show jumping.
In this photo, the gag bit is almost halfway out the horse’s mouth. And she expects him to go forward? Modern pentathlon needs to go. Now.
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I do think that the men’s showjumping round went very well and IMO were what this event should be, a test of horsemanship beyond the basic ability to get a horse safely from point A to point B (which many of the women could not even do). It’s actually kind of nice to watch, and showcased how good these horses really are
The best horsemen had the fewest penalties. The German guy who actually competes in regular 1.2m showjumping had the fastest clear round. The Australian endurance rider/pentathlete who previously won the Mongol Derby scored well enough to move him up the rankings after a poor showing in the first two events. Other riders were unpolished but still had forward seats and got out of their horses’ way, and most of the rails down were due to missing spots/strides. The riders who were out of their depth got major faults or were eliminated, but none looked truly unsafe to me.
The lone blemish was the rider whose rein broke, but to me that’s no different than the Australian cyclist whose handlebars fell off mid-race (!). Equipment just fails sometimes. Rider should’ve gotten some bonus points for staying calm and safely guiding the horse out of the ring though.
I’d like to know why there is such a massive difference in skill between the female and male riders, and if they can extend that training across both sexes.
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Yea I watched the women’s and the sportsmanship was super disappointing. I’ve seen middle schoolers at IEA shows be better sports when their round goes poorly. The thing is, same with IEA/ IHSA, you kind of have to come to terms with the fact that it’s never going to be 100% fair so the idea is you do the best with the ride you are given. The nerve of some of these “athletes” to ride like shit and then cry and blame the horse for “ruining” your chances is gross.
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Teaching adult beginners it’s just a given that the men get it more easily. I don’t know why, but it’s true. I think very few of the riders start as kids. Their riding scores don’t count until they are 18 and it’s not weighted as much as the other events when it does.
I’m a little perplexed here by the multiple comments about the gag and running martingale meaning the horse was difficult. For an amateur jumper, or really any jumper, that’s hugely common and no red flag at all.
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Its definitely not uncommon at all for amateur jumpers but in uneducated hands it’s a lot of brakes. And those riders were pulling hard in front of the fences, then wondering why the horse stopped and calling them rogue.
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I keep thinking that this is what Simone Biles’ mind and body felt like; but she was willing to listen to herself at the cost of a medal. In regard to the rein breaking, I think of Dan Huss’s ride on Ms Dreamy after his bridle broke: he knew his horse. This event is about the athlete, not about the horse, and the horse suffers for it.
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