[QUOTE=Cancara;8793692]
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…[/QUOTE]
Yeah, try watching it in person. Some can be scary…some are great riders though.
I wish I had of been involved in this sport as a kid…it seems too late to start now.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;8793893]
I wish I had of been involved in this sport as a kid…it seems too late to start now.[/QUOTE]
Nonsense. 
I was something like 44 or 45 when I started. No background in swimming, fencing, or shooting. Did some running years ago. Horses? No problem. So I was 1 for 5 at that point.
I got into pentathlon after randomly signing up for a beginners fencing class. I’d never even seen fencing before. Some other people at the club found out I was a horse person, introduced me to some pentafolk, and eventually, I got involved. Went to Canadian nationals after a couple of months of half-assed training.
We had a group of first-time masters competitors at nationals in Sherbrooke a couple of weeks ago. Some were borrowing equipment, some had experience from eons ago in some of the sports. Everyone had a great time.
There’s a fall comp in Ontario, I think in Fergus. I can send you the info if you’re interested. This one is very first-timer friendly, and you already know most of the Ontario crowd from Pan Ams.
(BTW, you can enter a pentathlon and just do the disciplines you want to do. You just get 0 points in the ones you don’t do. So you can ride and run/shoot and not swim and fence, it’s all up to you.)
[QUOTE=Cancara;8793692]
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…[/QUOTE]
Yes, most of the people involved with Pentathlon are not horse people. They are other sport people that just barely have to meet requirements to get through the riding part. Horses to most of these people are machines, and unfortunately, the same goes for the organizers. NO consideration goes to what the horses are being put through - cruel misery. I can understand other forums being pro this sport, but this it The Chronicle of the HORSE. I would have hoped people posting here were more caring about the HORSES.
I can’t watch that event - too painful.
Anything like para-pentathlon for golden oldies, JER?
[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;8796033]
Yes, most of the people involved with Pentathlon are not horse people. They are other sport people that just barely have to meet requirements to get through the riding part. Horses to most of these people are machines, and unfortunately, the same goes for the organizers. NO consideration goes to what the horses are being put through - cruel misery. I can understand other forums being pro this sport, but this it The Chronicle of the HORSE. I would have hoped people posting here were more caring about the HORSES.[/QUOTE]
Your expertise on this matter comes from where exactly?
There are a lot of horse people involved in pentathlon. Sure, there are non-horse people too, but the sport also requires proficiency in other sports. But there is always a team of people onsite to care for horses and ensure their welfare.
Here’s a blog post from a veterinary student who volunteered at the Pan Am Games in Toronto last summer. We had a full cooling station set-up, an army of vets and volunteers, and very strict protocols about time out and cooling before a horse could go back for their second round.
Hardly the situation you describe.
FHC is grinding the same old axe from 20 years ago - Atlanta, 1996. That is her expertise.
Some reading in preparation for the big competition that starts on the 18th:
How do you save an age-old sport? Laser guns.
A gentleman’s sport, now with lasers
Here’s a less-serious video explainer.
Fencing starts at 9 am EST, for those of you with live streams. No idea how this will be shown but hoping to see enough of the action. The women’s swimming, riding and combined running/shooting event are tomorrow; mens on Sat.
So I’ve just looked back at London’s performances.
Mens; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg7Psi5qSMI
Womens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzMSB7Wc-3Y
There are some very scary moments, but actually, some nice rides too, I guess you don’t remember the good ones!
One thing that bothered me was that it seemed like few riders made a big fuss of their horse at the end, especially when the horse had dug them out of trouble several times!
At least in GB they got nicer horses. China was really bad.
I must be an olympic junkie. NBC on the TV, Pentathlon just on the ipad, and COTH on the laptop!
So Donna took 4th overall in the ranking round? Nice job! What points does she get just for that? Does the bonus round give fencing a de facto ‘coefficient’ like dressage has in eventing?
Huge day for Pentathlon Canada! Melanie in 3rd and Donna in 4th.
This is Donna’s best-ever fencing round. To pull that out at the Olympics is an absolute dream.
But that said, we have worked so hard at this fencing thing. A new coach, two lessons a day, endless talk, spreadsheets, videos. And Donna fenced with my personal favorite epee, which I now need to bronze or something. I’d placed first in my last two comps with it and yesterday we decided she’d use it. As my sister said, it’s like it came from Hogwarts.
In Canada, we are a NO budget sport. Nothing. Zero. Laugh-in-your-face if you dare to ask. But with the help of family and friends and the occasional sponsor and volunteer coaches, look what we can do!
[QUOTE=JER;8803989]
Huge day for Pentathlon Canada! Melanie in 3rd and Donna in 4th.
This is Donna’s best-ever fencing round. To pull that out at the Olympics is an absolute dream.
But that said, we have worked so hard at this fencing thing. A new coach, two lessons a day, endless talk, spreadsheets, videos. And Donna fenced with my personal favorite epee, which I now need to bronze or something. I’d placed first in my last two comps with it and yesterday we decided she’d use it. As my sister said, it’s like it came from Hogwarts.
In Canada, we are a NO budget sport. Nothing. Zero. Laugh-in-your-face if you dare to ask. But with the help of family and friends and the occasional sponsor and volunteer coaches, look what we can do!
:)[/QUOTE]
Congratulations! I really enjoy your posts on this subject - I love learning about obscure sports from true enthusiasts.
[QUOTE=Sunsets;8804250]
Congratulations! I really enjoy your posts on this subject - I love learning about obscure sports from true enthusiasts.[/QUOTE]
Thanks so much! Pentathlon is such a great sport but sometimes it really feels like we’re shouting in the wilderness. We explain the five sports over and over again, but really, I don’t mind because at least it keeps the conversation going.
I should mention that we had some fantastic product sponsors for our Olympic duo, who we currently can’t thank because it violates Rule 40, which protects the financial interests of marquee sponsors like heath-food vendors McDonalds and Coca-Cola. I wouldn’t mind so much if Coca-Cola et al provided actual financial support for the athletes whose real sponsors it suppresses.
To all of you who’ve PM’d me about getting started in pentathlon – I’ll be getting back to you later tonight, after our athletes are safely in bed in the Olympic Village.
[QUOTE=Cancara;8803844]
So I’ve just looked back at London’s performances.
Mens; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg7Psi5qSMI
Womens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzMSB7Wc-3Y
There are some very scary moments, but actually, some nice rides too, I guess you don’t remember the good ones!
One thing that bothered me was that it seemed like few riders made a big fuss of their horse at the end, especially when the horse had dug them out of trouble several times![/QUOTE]
Thank you for posting those links, Cancara. I’ve just started watching. These are great.
I wish I knew that cute black horse’s name!
ETA: I also wish someone would talk me through that bay horse’s round with the American (Texan) rider. Jumping is not my forte. I knew he was going to refuse the first, and he did, and I can see some of the other obvious problems the horse is having to deal with. I just wish someone who really knows could talk me through the finer points of that round.
[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8805016]
ETA: I also wish someone would talk me through that bay horse’s round with the American (Texan) rider. Jumping is not my forte. I knew he was going to refuse the first, and he did, and I can see some of the other obvious problems the horse is having to deal with. I just wish someone who really knows could talk me through the finer points of that round.[/QUOTE]
He couldn’t ride. There are no finer points to that round.
The gent in question had qualified for the Olympics in Aug 2011. He had a year to get a clue how to ride. He’d already been in the pentathlon program for years, he just didn’t bother to learn and hoped he’d get lucky as a ham-fisted passenger, which he did on occasion.
In Feb 2012, we’d organized a UIPM-funded riding camp in Vancouver. It was a riding-specific camp, aimed at raising the standard of riding for London 2012. As a London-qualified athlete, he was invited – and it was all-expenses-paid by the international governing body.
He turned down the invite. No idea why he thought he didn’t need the experience. I mean, you have a year to prepare for the Olympic Games and you don’t put the time in for one of your five sports?
As you can see in the London video, he didn’t know how to get a horse to canter. Zero sympathy for him. He had plenty of time to prepare and he didn’t.
Thanks, JER. I feel better (really). Like I said, it’s not my forte, I knew I was seeing a bad ride but figured I’d learn more if I knew WHY it was bad. So, what I was seeing (the obvious) really was the problem.
Not that I could do any better, except that I wouldn’t be attempting to do that at my present skill level – and I would definitely have been at that riding camp!
[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8805016]
Thank you for posting those links, Cancara. I’ve just started watching. These are great.
I wish I knew that cute black horse’s name!
ETA: I also wish someone would talk me through that bay horse’s round with the American (Texan) rider. Jumping is not my forte. I knew he was going to refuse the first, and he did, and I can see some of the other obvious problems the horse is having to deal with. I just wish someone who really knows could talk me through the finer points of that round.[/QUOTE]
Very welcome, and shout out to the strawberry roan cob Trinidad who is an absolute trooper.
Also heads up about 1.26 in the mens where there is an extremely nasty incident with the Korean rider actually pulling the horse over on top of him… some may not want to watch.
How have I never even heard of this sport? I’m going to go back & watch the live streaming!
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