That other equestrian sport: modern pentathlon!

[JER]

Oh yes, please don’t forget the world’s most popular (:wink grin:) equestrian-ish sport, modern pentathlon. If you’re like most people, you forget about it until the Olympics rolls around and then you say ‘Right. WTF is that again?’

Fencing. Swimming. Showjumping. Running. Shooting. That’s what it is. And because the running and shooting are now done biathlon-style with a handicapped start, it always promises an exciting, unpredictable finish.

Qualifying for modern pentathlon at the Olympics is no easy feat. North America is represented by five athletes, three from the US – Nathan Scrimsher and the Isaksen sisters, Margaux and Isabella – and two from Canada – Donna Vakalis and Melanie McCann.

The riding course will be set at the 1.20m max and the pool of horses is real quality, so the ride promises to be very influential in the results, for all the right reasons.

It’s a great sport. Seriously, if you want to get fit and learn some badass skills, take up pentathlon – it’s for all ages, from youth to masters. Meanwhile, do try to watch the comp in Rio, this is an absolutely fantastic, beneath-the-radar, under-recognized, overachieving group of athletes. You’ll find among the entries doctors, lawyers, engineers, PhD students, etc. But what’s one more specialty when you already do five sports?

[Polydor]

I will be cheering on the canadians! You are coaching one of them aren’t you?

P.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Tik Maynard trained for and nearly made the Canadian pentathlon team at the beginning of this equestrian career (I took a clinic with him a long time ago).

I’ve always had one question about the pentathlon–how much on average do the athletes train for the riding and how? I know that they have such compressed training schedules because of all the other events. And do they do catch rides a great deal to get in practice for the event?

It’s a fascinating sport.

[JER]

[QUOTE=Polydor;8770460]
I will be cheering on the canadians! You are coaching one of them aren’t you? [/QUOTE]

Yes! Definitely cheer on the Canadians. We are a no-budget sport, yet we manage to support real quality athletes. Maybe someday the COC and Sport Canada or the odious Own the Podium program will take notice and give us something.

I’ve been working with Donna, she’s been here off and on for the past several months. Very long training days but also very fun. If you’re interested, you can see lots of pics and videos of the whole dang process on our Instagram pages – @jersporthorse and @thisisdonna.

[QUOTE=Impractical Horsewoman;8770469]
I’ve always had one question about the pentathlon–how much on average do the athletes train for the riding and how? I know that they have such compressed training schedules because of all the other events. And do they do catch rides a great deal to get in practice for the event?[/QUOTE]

Tik was a very good pentathlete. One of our best. Unfortunately for him, he was in the sport when the shooting was a static shoot rather than the current biathlon style, and Tik had a problem with his hand shaking. He probably would have benefited from the format change.

Riding training among pentathletes varies wildly. Some teams – Canada, US, Ireland, GB – tend to come from Pony Club backgrounds so the riding standard is always high. Other teams – most notably China and Korea – have hired good coaches and improved tremendously over the past several years. (I think the Koreans ride every day.) A number of the Hungarians own their own horses. There’s a Guatemalan girl competing at Rio whose identical twin sister competed in eventing at the Pan Am Games last summer.

However, there is still way too much awful pentathlon riding. Not nearly as much as there used to be, for the simple reason that the sport is so competitive, you can’t afford to take any chances. Some athletes don’t ride regularly – or at all – and seem to think they can get lucky and get around. And some coaches don’t have a clue about riding either.

Pentathlon riding is a fantastic test. You get 20 minutes and 5 warm-up jumps, then you go and do the course. The horses have already been tested over the course for suitability, so you know they can get around. It teaches you to ride forward and think forward, and also to figure out the horse’s happy way of going and ride it that way. No time to fuss or obsess over details, just produce your best ride.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Wow, thanks for the briefing @JER–I didn’t know that about the shooting, that’s really interesting! And it’s good to know that the safety of the horses regarding their ability to get around the course is tested beforehand!

[JER]

[QUOTE=Impractical Horsewoman;8773207]
And it’s good to know that the safety of the horses regarding their ability to get around the course is tested beforehand![/QUOTE]

There’s always a ‘jury ride’ before the competition starts. It’s a chance for athletes and coaches to see the horses in the pool for the competition. We take this quite seriously – we video the rides and make notes on the horses.

If a horse can’t make it successfully around the course with the owner or a test rider, it won’t be accepted into the competition. Iffy-er horses are designated as ‘reserve’ horses, who might be used as subs.

There are always some horses you want and some you don’t, and also some that you know will be a better match for your athletes than others.

[FitToBeTied]

I taught two kids in high school that had taken up pentathalon. That was 8 years ago. I see one is still doing it and is 7th ranked in the US. The other is not listed on the national team site. Probably went back to his plans for medical school.

[SolarFlare]

I was able to attend a “try out” for the horses for pentathlon before the Pan Am Games in Toronto. It wasn’t far from me so I thought I’d go see what it was about. Lucky me, I ended up sitting right beside the delegate from Germany (I think it was from the governing body for pentathlon?), so I got to hear some interesting comments and explanations of what we were watching. There was another delegate videoing all of the rounds, and the riders had to approach the camera and give some basic info about the horse.

I remember the German delegate was quite surprised at some of the horses - we have a lot of draft crosses in this area and it doesn’t seem that they do in Germany! :lol:

[JER]

[QUOTE=FitToBeTied;8773484]
I taught two kids in high school that had taken up pentathalon. [/QUOTE]

Ok. Can we at least get the spelling right? :lol:

P-E-N-T-A-T-H-L-O-N

I actually have some awards from competitions that say ‘pentathalon’ rather than the correct version. Really weird to see that on your ribbon or medal. But it’s a small, niche sport, and the word is too long for Scrabble anyway.

@SolarFlare;8773578

I was able to attend a “try out” for the horses for pentathlon before the Pan Am Games in Toronto.

You have to start recruiting equines well in advance of the competition. And even so, when the competition rolls around, out of your anticipated horses, seven will be lame, six will have been sold on, and at least three will be no longer alive. It is a very difficult job trying to procure horses for any competition.

The Pan Ams had a very good pool of horses, thanks to a multi-year effort by the organizers. We had a mix of adult jumper types and eventers, one of the latter had even gone around Rolex. I brought my spectacular pony and her horse sister for the women’s comp (they’re not suitable for unskilled men; the pony is 14.2hh and about 200 lbs). And there were some draft crosses – the horse organizer brought along his steady-eddie draftX who was a good draw for a less-skilled rider.

Eventers make good pentathlon horses because they’re comfortable with going forward and taking rails. The athletes sometimes get them to less-than-optimal spots and the horse has to make do. A fussy, careful horse wouldn’t like this at all.

COTHer Jealoushe was also there with her eventing mare, who went around very nicely.

[Jealoushe]

Do you have the schedule JER?

Want to live stream if possible. Curious to the horses that will be used down there!

and thank you for the comment about Penny I was wondering if Charles Fernandez would be going to the Olympics?

[JER]

[QUOTE=Jealoushe;8788323]
I was wondering if Charles Fernandez would be going to the Olympics?[/QUOTE]

Yes, Charles is there. So is Isabel Brand, who you might remember from the women’s comp. Her twin sister Stephanie was at Pan Ams competing in the eventing competition. They’re very cool girls.

Other Pan Am-ers are: Nathan and Margaux from the US, Jose and Leydi from Cuba, Tamara and Ismael from Mexico, Donna and Melanie from Canada, Emanuel from Argentina (whose wife Irina, originally from Ukraine, is also competing for Argentina, but she wasn’t eligible for Pan Ams), Yane from Brazil (who was the twirling, dancing flag bearer for the home team in the opening ceremonies).

Also, just for family stories, the comp will feature two sets of spouses – Isabella Isaksen of the US and Amro el Geziry of Egypt – and Emanuel Zapata and Irina Khokhlova from Argentina. Then there are sisters – Isabella and her sister Margaux for the US. And brothers – Amro and Omar el Geziry of Egypt. And a brother and sister – Max and Chloe Esposito from Australia.

I can’t remember who rode your mare in the comp. My pony Zizi helped Donna and Tamara go to Rio – and I’m sure you remember just how much Zizi helped Tamara.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

I sure hope the horses are treated better than they were in Atlanta at the 1996 Pentathlon. It is not a serious competition if horses have to be ridden by several riders, and in the Atlanta heat, being ridden for hours and hours was cruel at best. Riders getting 3/5/7/9 refusals as not sport, OR the horses’ fault. Hearing the croud chant :“BAD HORSE” each time was infuriating!

[Jealoushe]

Charles rode her as did the Canadian Josh. They were both above average riders for the lot I would say!

[Belmont]

JER, any livestream schedule for Pent, namely the horse part?

[JER]

Here’s the schedule:

August 18 Womens (10.30) and Mens (14.30) fencing ranking round (this is where everybody fences each other)

August 19 Womens final – starts at 12.00 with swimming, then at 14.00 the (boring, stupid, irrelevant) fencing bonus round, followed by riding (exciting) and the combined running/shooting event (very, very exciting)

August 20 Mens final – same sched as above

Not sure about live streams as I am on BBC, which I’m sure will be showing the entirety of the competition.

The riding usually starts about 90 min after the dumb fencing bonus round begins. Not sure what they have planned for horse draw and presentation. I’ll look for a more detailed schedule.

If everyone – and I mean everyone, because this is the most wonderful sport ever – tunes in to watch, I’ll be happy to answer questions on here during the comp.

[Jexa]

Wait, the fencing (most of it) is one day and everything else is the next? Does the fencing just take that long?

I would love for this sport to be more popular at a local level. I’m the world’s slowest swimmer but everything else is right up my alley.

[JER]

[QUOTE=Jexa;8791265]
Wait, the fencing (most of it) is one day and everything else is the next? Does the fencing just take that long? [/QUOTE]

This is the latest Olympic reconfiguration. The UIPM is doing all sorts of contortions to ensure pentathlon stays in the Olympics. It’s the only sport invented specifically for the Olympics (it was a military sport, like eventing) but that doesn’t seem to be enough to make it relevant.

The idea is to do the regular fencing round – which takes 2.5-3 hours the day before, then start off the second day with the ‘bonus round’, where you start with the bottom two fencers from the ranking round and winner stays on the face the next-higher-ranked fencer. So #36 fences #35, then the winner fences #34 and so on. If you win, you get one point, which means absolutely nothing. Most stupidly of all, the worst fencer in the group has a chance to earn 36 points (which is meaningful) but the top-ranked fencer only has the chance to win one bout for one single point. Go figure.

The bonus round will be held outside, in front of the riding course, and let me tell you, outdoor fencing is silly. You can’t see anything if you’re fencing (athletes wear sunglasses under their masks) or if you’re watching, because you can’t see the lights in the sun. There is very little enthusiasm for this among anyone other than the bright lights at the UIPM who cooked this up.

@Jexa;8791265

I would love for this sport to be more popular at a local level. I’m the world’s slowest swimmer but everything else is right up my alley.

There is pentathlon for all. Really. The US and Canada have a number of regional competitions that are fun and beginner-friendly. You can even borrow all the equipment if you don’t have your own.

There’s also a growing Masters division, with masters in pentathlon starting at 30 and over. At Masters World Championships last month in Prague, there were about 130 competitors, ranging from ages 30-75. Some were ex-Olympians, some were 50 YO beginners.

If you let me know where you’re located, I can probably put you in touch with pentathlon people near you.

[Jexa]

[QUOTE=JER;8791419]
There is very little enthusiasm for this among anyone other than the bright lights at the UIPM who cooked this up. [/QUOTE]

I’m not surprised, I can’t imagine why they think that’s MORE viewer friendly. Sounds unnecessarily convoluted, but what do I know.

@JER

If you let me know where you’re located, I can probably put you in touch with pentathlon people near you.

Near may be relative

Currently in NE Mississippi, but couch ridden with a broken leg. Once it’s healed I’ll theoretically only be here a few more months, then I should be off to southern New Mexico.

I’m not quite old enough for the masters division, but I don’t mind getting my butt kicked! Would definitely have to borrow equipment; I’ve shot real handguns but not laser ones, and the only small amount of fencing I did was as a kid and it was foil, not epee.

Still, if I ever become weight bearing again I’d like to get involved if you’ve got contacts!

[JER]

Here’s a good, short explainer video of how the sport will work in Rio.

[Cancara]

I’m sure at one Olympics I watched in horror as people who seemed barely able to ride hauled horses round a course, fell off, and were run away with! Hoping for a better showing this time…