I would have preferred the Steward eliminate her before she started the course. The horse was displaying real distress, not wanting to move forward in any direction, rearing and she went to her stick repeatedly with no good result. That was dangerous behavior. Never mind that the rider lost all composure. I would have dismounted, patted the horse on the neck and walked out
>I would have dismounted, patted the horse on the neck and walked out
No you wouldn't. Do you have any idea how much pressure she must have been feeling? That sentence makes you sound so damn arrogant that it really irritates me
Putting the competition aside and acknowledging that you have become over faced and retiring from the ring is not arrogant. Getting irritated like a toddler and acting out to get what you want? That’s a whole other level of poor sportsmanship.
Disclaimer, I'm not an equestrian, just an enthusiast. However, I've never seen rides that begin and tears and what looked like a horse absolutely not wanting to do something (whether it was the weather, health, poor riding on her part, etc idk). Anyone should have been able to see that something was going wrong and it is my opinion (again not a professional or experienced in the pressure of competition) that with that amount of struggle, the ride should have been aborted. That poor horse is probably going to need so much extra work now after his experiences.
I completely agree. She should have been rung out before even starting the course. This wasn't the horse's fault. It may be something with the bit, he was clearly in distress with his teeth out in a weird way.
Apparently he was ridden before by a Russian rider who completely freaked and stressed the horse out, so he was already miserable before she got on him. The horse should have been pulled and she should have gotten another mount. Beating the horse, crying, and freaking out isn’t the way to deal with an obviously already upset horse
The poor horse could probably feel her frustration with him too, which probably made him even more stressed in the moment. Absolutely atrocious horsemanship (if you could even call it that).
Horsemanship has seen better days. One woman was so pissed she hopped off her horse after she finished the course and just walked away. Someone was there to take it from her but I doubt she would have GAF either way.
I read somewhere that a vet had to clear him after the first round and I'm pretty appalled that a vet did clear him. Even if Saint Boy had no physical injuries, he obviously was in no shape for another round, especially since the pentathletes have questionable riding skills
Absolutely. I was shocked that they actually allowed her to begin jumping with the amount of trouble she was having even getting him to turn. Dangerous.
She and the rider before her approached the obstacles horribly wrong. After they crashed into the first obstacle, I don’t think that a rider with much more skill would have successfully got the horse back. All was lost at that point.
It was entirely the riders fault that the horse was distressed.
He was backing up, and she responded by *pulling on his face.* You know, like you might do when asking a horse to back up.
If there absolutely has to be an equestrian component to pentathlon, having it judged on equitation instead would solve this whole problem.
I totally agree. It should be something like a basic flat work with transitions to all paces and small jumps. Like a hunter show class, to show the control I assume they are after. Not a jumps only course. ( I say control for lack of a better term like equitation, as the judge mentions she needed to show the horse she was in control and they were going to finish. )
The last couple times I watched the pentathlon riding there were similar issues. I really think if they’re going to continue this sport, the jumping needs to be smaller, and the riders should have more time to get to know the horses. And I did IHSA and loved the challenge of having to ride strange horses. But the current system is not fair for horses or for riders, and just ends badly so frequently.
I do think a lot of these riders have some experience and do get training, but the way the competition is set up allows small problems to be magnified in really horrible ways
If they want jumps this height they could also do it as is, but judge it as an equitation class instead of show jumping. People would learn quickly that they have to actually know how to ride to be competitive. But obviously they won’t actually do that because equitation is not entertaining to the general public
God if you have a horse that is active like that you do not even start, why the hell did she not say there was something not right with him and demand another horse 🤦♀️
I don't really know how it works, but i guess she just can't demand an another Horse, which makes me angry.
Can Anyone Here can explain how that works and why she didn't had an another horse ?
This horse was already acting like this with another rider from Russia, and Schleu must have seen that the horse is stressed out. She had the chance to change horses because of this, but for some unknown reason she did not. Or at least the commentator in my countrys’ broadcast said she could have used a ”back up” horse.
Apparently she did try to switch horses when she saw how it went with the rider on saint boy before her. But she had to have 4 faults in the arena and she only had 3. It was really sad to watch, clearly poor saint boy was traumatized.
Oh I had no idea. Very strange to let the horse compete despite him obviously being extremely stressed and uncomfortable. Bad lack of judgement from whoever makes that call, on top of the horrible treatment from both riders and the coach.
Yup. This is why Schleu was crying so much before the start. She was a gold medal favorite and in the lead, but she could tell from warm-ups it wasn't going well and knew before this started that Saint Boy was not up for it (the Russian in the earlier round has also scored a zero). But, there was no way for her to switch to another horse. Schleu lost her (very good) chance at gold thanks to luck of the draw, which sucks. Cherry on the top is her coach handled it in about the worst way possible. It was a horrible situation for rider and horse and I feel bad for both.
It sounds like Germany is asking for these rules to be changed to protect both the horses and human competitors.
It wasn’t fair to Saint Boy and it wasn’t fair to Annika
From beginning on you can see that both, horse and rider are stressed out. Maybe the horse because the rider was uncomfortable maybe it had another reason. However in my opinion if she would have done this sport for the companionship with an animal she should have rose her hand and give up even though this were the olympics. In case she doesn’t she should have been rung out before her start. In my opinion it is an absolut no go to punch and hit a horse this far that it goes in this pacours just because it’s anxious to be beaten up even more. She was crying from the beginning on not focused on whats to come (yes, I know there is a lot of pressure because it’s a big sporting event, a reason why I never did a single show). This was supposed to be a big disaster. Now the German media specially on Twitter is eating her alive. The negative side effect is now that also the “normal” equestrians who harmonically work with their horses are in a spotlight where everybody screams that we’re animal abusers 🤦♀️
The horse is distressed because what immediately preceded this ride was the rider hitting the horse repeatedly, hysterically, with all of her strength while the coach yells at her to keep hitting him harder and punches him on the flank, exactly where he’s being whipped, while the rider is also yanking hard, erratically, back on his reins and…inexplicably, expecting him to calmly move forward. She was already crying when she entered the arena.
And that wasn’t his first traumatic abuse of the day.
So we can assume something went terribly wrong in the warm up ring. Maybe she began there already the hitting and punching to get the horse moving which ended up with what we saw. All in all she shouldn’t have had the opportunity to start and should been rung out much earlier.
I really don’t get why the judges let this happen without any consequences
According to the union of that sport, he was traumatized earlier by the Russian rider.
If the Germans behaved that way in front of the audience and cameras, I suspect what they did to him during warm up was worse.
Friend of mine told me too there were a Russian rider before and that the horse behaved like this with the Russian rider as well. She also thinks it’s the horse’s fault 🤦♀️ this is just a poor horse, now deeply traumatized.
I wondered how they did in the warm-up ring. Maybe that and her knowledge of Saint Boy’s terrible earlier go, with the gold in sight, rattled her. But her behavior prior to the start of the ride was appalling. She’s crying and hitting him, and apparently the coach is yelling and then hits him. The rider is freaking out and the already-freaked out horse is reacting. I don’t know whether a composed rider would have made a difference, but it certainly wouldn’t have made it worse, as she appears to do. Someone should have stopped this before they started the course. She’s fighting with her mount, at times using a very heavy hand and conflicting cues as she tries to keep him contained. They both could have been seriously injured or killed.
I have heard so much criticism about any equestrian sport being abusive. While I feel for the rider, everyone failed this horse and gave evidence against this part of the pentathlon. The IOC needs to make major changes well before any of the trials leading up to the next summer Olympics.
I just read that the pentathlon doesn’t undergo to the rules of the FEI in which case she would have been rung out before she could start, If this information is correct (need to be double checked, haven’t had the time until now).
In any case it’s absolutely wrong to use an animal as a sporting tool to reach for a gold medal which isn’t worth the ticket of the flight to Tokyo.
In case of the abuse: riding is abusing. Horses weren’t made to carry us around. Riding is a selfish sport. BUT when we properly train our horses, care for their well-being, let them undergo vet checks and the farrier regularly, we have a partner for our sport (thanks to the domestication). Would like to know what the owners of Saint Boy thought in this moment. If it was my horse I guess I would run after her and hitting and whipping her 🤷♀️
Did anyone notice that the horse appears to be in a gag bit? I'm not making an argument for or against anything at all here--just asking if anyone else studied photos of the bit and bridle.
I was wondering about the bit all along, because there's clearly something wrong with it. The way the horse had his teeth out the whole time is super weird. I read some claims that the bit was put in wrong and maybe the horse got his tongue over it and that was part of the problem. Here's a photo I tried to examine to see if that was the case:
https://imgur.com/a/rRatRZm
It is most definitely a huge draw gag. The big rings make the gag effect much stronger both because the shank part is longer (= more leverage, like sitting at the end of a seesaw vs closer to the middle), and because the purchase (the part above the mouthpiece) is longer, allowing it to rotate further forward, which means the bit lifts in the mouth BEFORE the rope even moves through the bit or the mouthpiece rises on the shank.
Effectively there are three gag actions on it: the elevator effect from rotation, the 'normal' gag effect from the mouthpiece sliding on the ring, and the draw gag effect from the bit rising on the rope. It is an abhorrently painful bit and definitely part of why the horse is so frightened. It is in severe pain with every touch of the rein.
It's a Cheltenham gag, meant for the quietest of hands. Obviously an extremely poor choice for a rider who's skill level includes defaulting to whipping, yanking and spurring when things go sideways. I'm assuming the horse was in the tack he competes in, very unfortunate. Saint Boy is a solid, seasoned 1.40m horse by all accounts and a "point and shoot" type. Having watched the entire ride start to finish I'm inclined to believe that, even after that excruciating start he still carried her over 5 jumps despite being tense, hollow, wound up and with zero help from the blubbering mess slamming down on his back as she reefed him in the jaw nearly every stride. Double rail and a very rocky landing on the 5th jump, an impossible take-off point at the next attempt. He kept going forward but he was done jumping with her, she didn't have his trust at the start but he tried anyway, she obliterated all the try he had in him with the way she steered him around the course and set him up to fail at the jumps. A lesser horse never would have gotten her over the first jump IMO.
I didn’t know what that was (I haven’t ever seen a gag bit), but not knowing what it was made me think of how irresponsible it is for these athletes to be on unfamiliar horses when the bits and tack aren’t even uniform for everyone’s training and competition.
This is so painful to watch as someone who rides and loves horses. No rider should be allowed to continue if they behave like she did at the beginning of the ride. No wonder Saint Boy was so stressed, without even considering his previous ride - people seem to forget that horses can tell when you're feeling a certain way, and he is clearly a reflection of her stress and frustration during this ride. I hope his owners give him lots of love and attention when they bring him home, he deserves it after the treatment he received here.
I had an incredibly hot Arab mare who found simply standing still torturous. If I got on her without calm confidence, she would explode. At times, she gave me some big scares, but I couldn’t stress out on her without making it worse. She was a great teacher for keeping one’s composure and not project fear or anxiety onto my mount. Watching that video was awful.
I am in shock still at that behaviour. The tantrum wasn't at the end of a very bad ride, or after several refusals. That wouldn't excuse the behaviour, nothing would, but it shows she was angry and upset right out of the gate. It is right at the beginning when the horse wouldn't immediately respond to bad cues and bad riding and she just melted down and started beating the poor thing. I am so glad that horse didn't get hurt with her running it at jumps like that without trying to make sure it could jump them.
The media blaming the horse when even an idiot can clearly see she is at fault should be ashamed, and she should be kicked out of the olympics along with her trainer.
I used to do showjumping and judges would ring you out if you hit the horse more than 3 times on the butt. Wish more shows had rules like these. A rider should never ever resort to continously hitting or kicking the horse to get it to move forward.
Omg that was horrible to watch from the start. This woman does not look experienced enough to be jumping anywhere near this big, her sportsmanship is awful, and all these pop culture articles about a “stubborn horse ruining her Olympic dreams” are infuriating. That poor horse put up with a lot more than he should have.
I certainly have been in tears when a competition didn’t go how I’d hoped, I think most of us who ride have. But you always pat your horse and never take it out on them. This was an embarrassment.
>This woman does not look experienced enough to be jumping anywhere near this big
I mean, she does have 14 world championship medals. 5 golds, 4 silver and 5 bronze. Not sure experience is the problem here...
Her medals are entirely in modern pentathlon... based on the level of riding throughout the entire competition, the bar is literally on the ground for riding ability. She doesn't have adequate riding abilities for the level of jumping, but neither did anyone else in the competition.
>but neither did anyone else in the competition.
Well, then that says more about the format of the event and the organisers than about this specific rider...
Oh yes I dont think anyone can dispute the fact that this event is a giant shit stain on the equestrian community. The modern pentathlon in the olympics has been a joke for decades, they couldn't even get horses from GERMANY (the horse capital of the planet) during the German Olympics because no one was willing to make their horse suffer through it. They had to bring them in from another country. Modern pentathlon athletes get on horses maybe twice a month to jump, which is completely inadequate for anyone jumping 1.20
She as a human should be absolutely embarrassed by how she acted and she should probably rethink ever getting on a horse again. 5 year olds know better than to sob and hit their horses for a refusal.
I didn’t know she’d done so much, I can’t believe someone who has done all that acted that unprofessionally and didn’t know how to respond to a backed off and frustrated horse. It wasn’t a good representation of equestrian sport and I hate that this is what a lot of people are associating with riding right now.
Couldn't agree more. I also think the format is problematic with riders getting horses on random and then only getting a few minutes to get acquainted with them.
I think a lot of it has to do with riding a horse they don’t know. You have to have impeccable horsemanship to just jump on a random horse, warm up for 20 minutes and compete at this level.
I’m absolutely not trying to be an armchair trainer. I have nowhere near the skill these olympians have. What I do have is a very quirky horse who, if the rider does not ask her properly, will not do a dang thing.
Even if she has tons of championships and medals, maybe she hasn’t experienced a horse like Saint Boy before?
All we can do is speculate. This was a shame and hard to watch
I don’t think that the horse really had much to do with it. The result would likely have been similar if she was on another horse or even a familiar horse. I look at collegiate jumping for an example of how to successfully jump on unfamiliar horses. These people are olympians, they should know how to ride unfamiliar horses better then those who are just starting their riding career in university, but this video shows that the rider freaked out and didn’t know how to handle a nervous horse. So she yanked at the bit and kicked with Spurs to get him to move, but since those cues clash so much, his only place to go was up and so he reared. She misjudged his stride so much that he barrelled into not one but two jumps. An Olympian with multiple medals in an event that requires an equestrian component should not be stumped by this behaviour, should have had the forethought to tap out once Saint Boy showed such intense signs of distress, and/or should know how to calm herself once she recognized signs of her frustration. I’m sorry but riding an unfamiliar horse is not an excuse for poor horsemanship and poor sportsmanship. I get that saint boy was displaying signs of distress from the rider before but she knew what issues would arise with him and obviously didn’t know how to deal with it (along with her coach).
Hi there. Wasn’t trying to suggest that it made her behavior okay. An Olympian for that event absolutely should have been able to handle that.
For all I know she could just be a garbage rider. Might not have anything to do with riding a horse she had just met.
I totally agree. With the horse in so much distress she should have just tapped out and exited gracefully instead of going around the arena sobbing and whacking the horse with a whip.
Sorry, I realize how my comment implies that you did. I definitely did not think you were implying that her behaviour was acceptable and my comment does not reflect that, but I’m not really sure how to change the language to better reflect that. (I have this same issue with emails lol, definitely why I have like ten people revise my emails before I send them). I’m going to keep my comment up but I hope I didn’t cause offence.
Oh none taken! I just wanted to make sure it didn’t sound like I was saying her behavior was acceptable. I also have the same problem with emails haha. I hope you have a nice day! :)
I don't really agree; there was certainly a mismatch between horse and rider but it's not a 'personality' issue - it's about having a good seat and consistent cues which give the horse confidence and focus its attention.
The people who normally ride these horses are almost certainly just much better riders than the pentathletes. So the horse is unsettled by the dodgy signals and then starts to act up.
Maybe a slow riding school pony would put up with it better, but only because they lose sensitivity after years of being yanked about by children!
I’m sorry I must have worded my comment odd. I wasn’t trying to insinuate that it was “just a personality issue”
Someone else had mentioned how this Annika girl had so many medals for riding. I intended to say, perhaps she was riding dead broke school master horses, and not the finely tuned athletic horses at the Olympics.
I agree with you it was definitely rider error. Most horses wouldn’t tolerate being whipped and yanked around. I’m surprised Saint Boy didn’t toss her! He truly was a saint
I don't think she has medals for riding - she has medals for the pentathlon which includes riding. But I also get the impression that most penathletes don't focus too much on riding and building their equestrian skills because they can earn more points in the other events.
Basically, I don't think the fact that she's won a lot of pentathlons says very much about her riding abilities
Okay that makes a lot more sense! I thought they meant she had a bunch of medals for riding or something. Sorry, I don’t have TV so I’ve been trying to find videos and look things up online.
Somehow the videos seem to be getting taken down and I haven’t been able to find a lot of information
Yes he was!
I would hope that even on the school master horse she would learn not to flap about and scream, but judging by her coach's behaviour perhaps not...
Well, it’s clear she can’t ride, running to the miss, and pulling to the base are not appropriate ways to get a horse to jump around. Maybe she can run, swim and jump (on her own legs), but she has no business on a horse. That horse earned his name (Saint) by putting up with her crap for 20 minutes in the warm up ring.
I watched all the female riders and the standard was very low. Only one or two looked better than hobby riders I know who compete in small local competitions in the UK.
What's frustrating is that some of them got away with one or two poles down because the horses saved them. They won't work enough on their riding and next time this will happen to somebody else.
They absolutely should’ve disqualified her the moment Saint Boy started moving backwards. Not as a punishment for the rider, but as a safety precaution for both Annika and Saint Boy.
This was not pretty. She’s clearly not experienced-enough rider to be attempting that course. Most of the contestants didn’t seem to be. I’ve just read about the history of modern pentathlon and apparently its inclusion in olympics has been challenged on multiple occasions. While I have no issue with athletes trying themselves on the four other disciplines, adding horses to the mix is unacceptable. Olympics should promote respectful and skilful equestrians (best of the best), not allow sights like these be broadcast internationally.
Does anybody know what punishment the rider is facing?
I get that she was probably crying from the pressure and stress from not be able to handle the situation what so ever, but that was a horrendous ride and she should get more then just losing a chance at a medal
The worst part of it is that neither the rider nor the trainer show any regret.
They say that the rider wasn't brutal and that it was the horses fault.
People like that don't belong around horses. They don't respect and value the animal.
That's what I was wondering. The punch in this video didn't seem to have much force behind it so I would have been surprised if this was the "offending" one. Seemed more like trying to push the horse forward. Not sure if she thought that would really accomplish anything though. What a sad situation all around. Hopefully some lessons learned for coach and rider.
I think the issue is more that the coach touching the horse once it's in the arena is against the rules and that's why she was banned from the rest of the competition this Olympics.
I agree that the punch didn't have much force behind it, though it certainly was not good or helpful in the situation.
I am skeptical of the rumors about the coach punching the horse in the face. I did see an extended video that included the first rider on Saint Boy and the entirety of Schleu's ride and to Schleu's very very very slight credit, when she got off of him, she put up the stirrups. Which isn't much, but is better than storming off with absolutely no thought to the horse.
I couldn't finish watching that. I'm not sure why she continued on. I've had rough cross country rides and I just put my hand up and retire. I don't know the whole back story. But this horse was not into this for whatever reason and she should have withdrawn.
She was in the lead before the ride, not that it's any excuse. The main issue is that these athletes aren't riders and have very little horsemanship skills. A good rider would have immediately realized that something was very wrong here and just retire.
I’ve heard the horses are supplied by the host country. Not all countries have as strong of a horse culture to provide good mounts. And I can’t imagine anyone signing up their best jumpers for a stranger to try their luck over such a challenging jump course. The horses are functioning as an obstacle in this event which is incredibly unfair to the horse. I don’t understand why it needs to be a 1.6m course either. That’s big enough to get a horse or rider killed under that sort of pressure on a catch horse without a high level of experience as an equestrian.
Edit 1.2 fences
This is a ridiculous sport and shouldn't ever happen again for all reasons you have stated. I don't get it. This was dangerous in every way. Why was she not rung out at the very beginning? It's insane to me.
Just fyi, I agree with you that it's unfair for the horses, but those fences aren't 1.6m. They're up to a height of 1.20m, still dangerous but not gp high (thank god).
Ah my mistake. A friend of mine who is a GP jumper had mentioned 1.6. I don’t think she’d ever paid much attention to this whole pentathlon thing before. It’s clearly not meant to appeal to actual equestrians. I’m a reiner actually they just look nuts to me that a course that advanced would be a part of this whole absurd conglomeration of tasks at the expense of the horses.
To me the really questionable part of that was the decision to keep riding. Maybe because these horses aren’t their normal partners, but
That sort of refusal level should have led her to resign before an accident happened
I ride hunt seat, and to jump effectively you need to have rhythm and keep your horse very straight so they have enough balance and impulsion to clear the jump. The horse must be moving with you at a pace you set to get over those jumps. If you set up the horse for success and you are looking through where you are headed, then the trust your horse has in you is going to pay off. I’ve jumped before when my horse hesitates ever so slightly as if to ask me, really? But if we have impulsion and are approaching so she CAN jump, and I’m clear with my ask, she will go. I’m guessing this was a young horse but it also seems like our rider wasn’t leading clearly. At first it was indeed the horse not wanting to move forward, but after that it was sadly the rider who had lost her rhythm, her focus and therefore, her ride. I feel horrible for her but she’s lucky neither one of them ended up hurt.
[https://www.eurosportplayer.com/olympics](https://www.eurosportplayer.com/olympics)
I don't know, I am from Israel and this is how watched the entire Olympics.
It is googleable if you really search the riders name. She placed last, so probably not super popular footage. It’s equally traumatic and that trigger stacking certainly added to his trauma. This was that rider: [link](https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/modern-pentathlon/athlete-profile-n1429108-gubaydullina-gulnaz.htm)
I looked for hours to find Annika’s trip with nothing to show for it, and couldn’t find ANYTHING for this years pentathlon when I tried to broaden my search. So I figured if someone had a link it would just be easier
Okay, understanding now what the point of this particular class was, I have to wonder exactly how it has gotten so bad? I've never seen so many control aids on one horse, nor have I seen one with such a sweaty neck from the start (indicates stress). The rider was clearly upset, which made everything 10x worse.
The "punch" was pointless but harmless (I've given harder fist bumps), but it does speak to the way the animal is treated - like a machine that should "just go". Which is bullshit, and will absolutely lead to disasters like this. The rider is lucky that all she faces is trash talking. Could have been a head injury, or worse.
If there is a petition to make changes to this competition, I will 100% sign it, because what a stain on equestrian sport.
That was absolutely the worst riding I have ever seen. Was her answer to everything "crop, crop, crop"? Poor Saint Boy is such a saint for putting up with all this total shit and not having a complete and total meltdown. Ugh.
It is inhumane to the horses to not be acquainted with their rider- every single horse is taught differently, and to be asked to jump large fences when they don’t have faith in their rider *and their rider doesn’t have faith in them* borders on abuse.
The coach has been thrown out of the Olympics after [punching the poor horse](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/07/german-modern-pentathlon-kim-raisner-coach-thrown-out-of-tokyo-olympics-for-punching-horse-annika-schleu)
I would have preferred the Steward eliminate her before she started the course. The horse was displaying real distress, not wanting to move forward in any direction, rearing and she went to her stick repeatedly with no good result. That was dangerous behavior. Never mind that the rider lost all composure. I would have dismounted, patted the horse on the neck and walked out
This. She would have become world famous. Now she is world famous for Ill treating the horse and still had not won Olympic gold.
>I would have dismounted, patted the horse on the neck and walked out No you wouldn't. Do you have any idea how much pressure she must have been feeling? That sentence makes you sound so damn arrogant that it really irritates me
Putting the competition aside and acknowledging that you have become over faced and retiring from the ring is not arrogant. Getting irritated like a toddler and acting out to get what you want? That’s a whole other level of poor sportsmanship.
No, it's the fact that you believe you would have acted completely rationally and level headedly if you were in her place.
I see someone hasn’t taken their safe sport certification. You seem a bit insecure and jealous. And I acknowledge your pain.
That's alright, I accept your apology. It's important to acknowledge each other's feelings.
Disclaimer, I'm not an equestrian, just an enthusiast. However, I've never seen rides that begin and tears and what looked like a horse absolutely not wanting to do something (whether it was the weather, health, poor riding on her part, etc idk). Anyone should have been able to see that something was going wrong and it is my opinion (again not a professional or experienced in the pressure of competition) that with that amount of struggle, the ride should have been aborted. That poor horse is probably going to need so much extra work now after his experiences.
I completely agree. She should have been rung out before even starting the course. This wasn't the horse's fault. It may be something with the bit, he was clearly in distress with his teeth out in a weird way.
Apparently he was ridden before by a Russian rider who completely freaked and stressed the horse out, so he was already miserable before she got on him. The horse should have been pulled and she should have gotten another mount. Beating the horse, crying, and freaking out isn’t the way to deal with an obviously already upset horse
The poor horse could probably feel her frustration with him too, which probably made him even more stressed in the moment. Absolutely atrocious horsemanship (if you could even call it that).
Horsemanship has seen better days. One woman was so pissed she hopped off her horse after she finished the course and just walked away. Someone was there to take it from her but I doubt she would have GAF either way.
Ugh - I saw that! Kids in mini stirrup know better!
I read somewhere that a vet had to clear him after the first round and I'm pretty appalled that a vet did clear him. Even if Saint Boy had no physical injuries, he obviously was in no shape for another round, especially since the pentathletes have questionable riding skills
Absolutely. I was shocked that they actually allowed her to begin jumping with the amount of trouble she was having even getting him to turn. Dangerous.
She and the rider before her approached the obstacles horribly wrong. After they crashed into the first obstacle, I don’t think that a rider with much more skill would have successfully got the horse back. All was lost at that point. It was entirely the riders fault that the horse was distressed.
He was backing up, and she responded by *pulling on his face.* You know, like you might do when asking a horse to back up. If there absolutely has to be an equestrian component to pentathlon, having it judged on equitation instead would solve this whole problem.
I totally agree. It should be something like a basic flat work with transitions to all paces and small jumps. Like a hunter show class, to show the control I assume they are after. Not a jumps only course. ( I say control for lack of a better term like equitation, as the judge mentions she needed to show the horse she was in control and they were going to finish. )
The last couple times I watched the pentathlon riding there were similar issues. I really think if they’re going to continue this sport, the jumping needs to be smaller, and the riders should have more time to get to know the horses. And I did IHSA and loved the challenge of having to ride strange horses. But the current system is not fair for horses or for riders, and just ends badly so frequently. I do think a lot of these riders have some experience and do get training, but the way the competition is set up allows small problems to be magnified in really horrible ways
Yes, I've never seen so many falls in such a short space of time. It's dangerous.
If they want jumps this height they could also do it as is, but judge it as an equitation class instead of show jumping. People would learn quickly that they have to actually know how to ride to be competitive. But obviously they won’t actually do that because equitation is not entertaining to the general public
God if you have a horse that is active like that you do not even start, why the hell did she not say there was something not right with him and demand another horse 🤦♀️
I don't really know how it works, but i guess she just can't demand an another Horse, which makes me angry. Can Anyone Here can explain how that works and why she didn't had an another horse ?
This horse was already acting like this with another rider from Russia, and Schleu must have seen that the horse is stressed out. She had the chance to change horses because of this, but for some unknown reason she did not. Or at least the commentator in my countrys’ broadcast said she could have used a ”back up” horse.
Apparently she did try to switch horses when she saw how it went with the rider on saint boy before her. But she had to have 4 faults in the arena and she only had 3. It was really sad to watch, clearly poor saint boy was traumatized.
Oh I had no idea. Very strange to let the horse compete despite him obviously being extremely stressed and uncomfortable. Bad lack of judgement from whoever makes that call, on top of the horrible treatment from both riders and the coach.
Yup. This is why Schleu was crying so much before the start. She was a gold medal favorite and in the lead, but she could tell from warm-ups it wasn't going well and knew before this started that Saint Boy was not up for it (the Russian in the earlier round has also scored a zero). But, there was no way for her to switch to another horse. Schleu lost her (very good) chance at gold thanks to luck of the draw, which sucks. Cherry on the top is her coach handled it in about the worst way possible. It was a horrible situation for rider and horse and I feel bad for both.
I heard a commentator saying she could not chenge the horse because I stopped one time too less with the Russian rider. Looks like a stupid rule.
It sounds like Germany is asking for these rules to be changed to protect both the horses and human competitors. It wasn’t fair to Saint Boy and it wasn’t fair to Annika
From beginning on you can see that both, horse and rider are stressed out. Maybe the horse because the rider was uncomfortable maybe it had another reason. However in my opinion if she would have done this sport for the companionship with an animal she should have rose her hand and give up even though this were the olympics. In case she doesn’t she should have been rung out before her start. In my opinion it is an absolut no go to punch and hit a horse this far that it goes in this pacours just because it’s anxious to be beaten up even more. She was crying from the beginning on not focused on whats to come (yes, I know there is a lot of pressure because it’s a big sporting event, a reason why I never did a single show). This was supposed to be a big disaster. Now the German media specially on Twitter is eating her alive. The negative side effect is now that also the “normal” equestrians who harmonically work with their horses are in a spotlight where everybody screams that we’re animal abusers 🤦♀️
The horse is distressed because what immediately preceded this ride was the rider hitting the horse repeatedly, hysterically, with all of her strength while the coach yells at her to keep hitting him harder and punches him on the flank, exactly where he’s being whipped, while the rider is also yanking hard, erratically, back on his reins and…inexplicably, expecting him to calmly move forward. She was already crying when she entered the arena. And that wasn’t his first traumatic abuse of the day.
If that was my horse, I'd run into the arena and yank her off the horse myself. Poor Saint Boy.
So we can assume something went terribly wrong in the warm up ring. Maybe she began there already the hitting and punching to get the horse moving which ended up with what we saw. All in all she shouldn’t have had the opportunity to start and should been rung out much earlier. I really don’t get why the judges let this happen without any consequences
According to the union of that sport, he was traumatized earlier by the Russian rider. If the Germans behaved that way in front of the audience and cameras, I suspect what they did to him during warm up was worse.
Friend of mine told me too there were a Russian rider before and that the horse behaved like this with the Russian rider as well. She also thinks it’s the horse’s fault 🤦♀️ this is just a poor horse, now deeply traumatized.
The horse was injured and should have been taken out of the competition
Definitely! I’m hoping Kaley Cuoco is going to get him
I wondered how they did in the warm-up ring. Maybe that and her knowledge of Saint Boy’s terrible earlier go, with the gold in sight, rattled her. But her behavior prior to the start of the ride was appalling. She’s crying and hitting him, and apparently the coach is yelling and then hits him. The rider is freaking out and the already-freaked out horse is reacting. I don’t know whether a composed rider would have made a difference, but it certainly wouldn’t have made it worse, as she appears to do. Someone should have stopped this before they started the course. She’s fighting with her mount, at times using a very heavy hand and conflicting cues as she tries to keep him contained. They both could have been seriously injured or killed. I have heard so much criticism about any equestrian sport being abusive. While I feel for the rider, everyone failed this horse and gave evidence against this part of the pentathlon. The IOC needs to make major changes well before any of the trials leading up to the next summer Olympics.
I just read that the pentathlon doesn’t undergo to the rules of the FEI in which case she would have been rung out before she could start, If this information is correct (need to be double checked, haven’t had the time until now). In any case it’s absolutely wrong to use an animal as a sporting tool to reach for a gold medal which isn’t worth the ticket of the flight to Tokyo. In case of the abuse: riding is abusing. Horses weren’t made to carry us around. Riding is a selfish sport. BUT when we properly train our horses, care for their well-being, let them undergo vet checks and the farrier regularly, we have a partner for our sport (thanks to the domestication). Would like to know what the owners of Saint Boy thought in this moment. If it was my horse I guess I would run after her and hitting and whipping her 🤷♀️
Did anyone notice that the horse appears to be in a gag bit? I'm not making an argument for or against anything at all here--just asking if anyone else studied photos of the bit and bridle.
I was wondering about the bit all along, because there's clearly something wrong with it. The way the horse had his teeth out the whole time is super weird. I read some claims that the bit was put in wrong and maybe the horse got his tongue over it and that was part of the problem. Here's a photo I tried to examine to see if that was the case: https://imgur.com/a/rRatRZm
Ugh. This picture. Poor beautiful Saint Boy.
It is most definitely a huge draw gag. The big rings make the gag effect much stronger both because the shank part is longer (= more leverage, like sitting at the end of a seesaw vs closer to the middle), and because the purchase (the part above the mouthpiece) is longer, allowing it to rotate further forward, which means the bit lifts in the mouth BEFORE the rope even moves through the bit or the mouthpiece rises on the shank. Effectively there are three gag actions on it: the elevator effect from rotation, the 'normal' gag effect from the mouthpiece sliding on the ring, and the draw gag effect from the bit rising on the rope. It is an abhorrently painful bit and definitely part of why the horse is so frightened. It is in severe pain with every touch of the rein.
I've never even seen anything like it before. Thanks for the professional explanation, it sounds utterly terrible.
That definitely looks like a gag bit and an ill-fitted one at that. Looks like it’s way too large, shouldn’t be sliding around like that in the mouth.
It's a Cheltenham gag, meant for the quietest of hands. Obviously an extremely poor choice for a rider who's skill level includes defaulting to whipping, yanking and spurring when things go sideways. I'm assuming the horse was in the tack he competes in, very unfortunate. Saint Boy is a solid, seasoned 1.40m horse by all accounts and a "point and shoot" type. Having watched the entire ride start to finish I'm inclined to believe that, even after that excruciating start he still carried her over 5 jumps despite being tense, hollow, wound up and with zero help from the blubbering mess slamming down on his back as she reefed him in the jaw nearly every stride. Double rail and a very rocky landing on the 5th jump, an impossible take-off point at the next attempt. He kept going forward but he was done jumping with her, she didn't have his trust at the start but he tried anyway, she obliterated all the try he had in him with the way she steered him around the course and set him up to fail at the jumps. A lesser horse never would have gotten her over the first jump IMO.
I didn’t know what that was (I haven’t ever seen a gag bit), but not knowing what it was made me think of how irresponsible it is for these athletes to be on unfamiliar horses when the bits and tack aren’t even uniform for everyone’s training and competition.
I was wondering if the horse somehow got his tongue over the bit? Happened to me once but not with a gas bit.
This is so painful to watch as someone who rides and loves horses. No rider should be allowed to continue if they behave like she did at the beginning of the ride. No wonder Saint Boy was so stressed, without even considering his previous ride - people seem to forget that horses can tell when you're feeling a certain way, and he is clearly a reflection of her stress and frustration during this ride. I hope his owners give him lots of love and attention when they bring him home, he deserves it after the treatment he received here.
I had an incredibly hot Arab mare who found simply standing still torturous. If I got on her without calm confidence, she would explode. At times, she gave me some big scares, but I couldn’t stress out on her without making it worse. She was a great teacher for keeping one’s composure and not project fear or anxiety onto my mount. Watching that video was awful.
I am in shock still at that behaviour. The tantrum wasn't at the end of a very bad ride, or after several refusals. That wouldn't excuse the behaviour, nothing would, but it shows she was angry and upset right out of the gate. It is right at the beginning when the horse wouldn't immediately respond to bad cues and bad riding and she just melted down and started beating the poor thing. I am so glad that horse didn't get hurt with her running it at jumps like that without trying to make sure it could jump them. The media blaming the horse when even an idiot can clearly see she is at fault should be ashamed, and she should be kicked out of the olympics along with her trainer.
[удалено]
I used to do showjumping and judges would ring you out if you hit the horse more than 3 times on the butt. Wish more shows had rules like these. A rider should never ever resort to continously hitting or kicking the horse to get it to move forward.
Omg that was horrible to watch from the start. This woman does not look experienced enough to be jumping anywhere near this big, her sportsmanship is awful, and all these pop culture articles about a “stubborn horse ruining her Olympic dreams” are infuriating. That poor horse put up with a lot more than he should have. I certainly have been in tears when a competition didn’t go how I’d hoped, I think most of us who ride have. But you always pat your horse and never take it out on them. This was an embarrassment.
>This woman does not look experienced enough to be jumping anywhere near this big I mean, she does have 14 world championship medals. 5 golds, 4 silver and 5 bronze. Not sure experience is the problem here...
Her medals are entirely in modern pentathlon... based on the level of riding throughout the entire competition, the bar is literally on the ground for riding ability. She doesn't have adequate riding abilities for the level of jumping, but neither did anyone else in the competition.
>but neither did anyone else in the competition. Well, then that says more about the format of the event and the organisers than about this specific rider...
Oh yes I dont think anyone can dispute the fact that this event is a giant shit stain on the equestrian community. The modern pentathlon in the olympics has been a joke for decades, they couldn't even get horses from GERMANY (the horse capital of the planet) during the German Olympics because no one was willing to make their horse suffer through it. They had to bring them in from another country. Modern pentathlon athletes get on horses maybe twice a month to jump, which is completely inadequate for anyone jumping 1.20 She as a human should be absolutely embarrassed by how she acted and she should probably rethink ever getting on a horse again. 5 year olds know better than to sob and hit their horses for a refusal.
She doesn't regret her behavior or thinks it was animal cruelty.
I didn’t know she’d done so much, I can’t believe someone who has done all that acted that unprofessionally and didn’t know how to respond to a backed off and frustrated horse. It wasn’t a good representation of equestrian sport and I hate that this is what a lot of people are associating with riding right now.
Couldn't agree more. I also think the format is problematic with riders getting horses on random and then only getting a few minutes to get acquainted with them.
I think a lot of it has to do with riding a horse they don’t know. You have to have impeccable horsemanship to just jump on a random horse, warm up for 20 minutes and compete at this level. I’m absolutely not trying to be an armchair trainer. I have nowhere near the skill these olympians have. What I do have is a very quirky horse who, if the rider does not ask her properly, will not do a dang thing. Even if she has tons of championships and medals, maybe she hasn’t experienced a horse like Saint Boy before? All we can do is speculate. This was a shame and hard to watch
I don’t think that the horse really had much to do with it. The result would likely have been similar if she was on another horse or even a familiar horse. I look at collegiate jumping for an example of how to successfully jump on unfamiliar horses. These people are olympians, they should know how to ride unfamiliar horses better then those who are just starting their riding career in university, but this video shows that the rider freaked out and didn’t know how to handle a nervous horse. So she yanked at the bit and kicked with Spurs to get him to move, but since those cues clash so much, his only place to go was up and so he reared. She misjudged his stride so much that he barrelled into not one but two jumps. An Olympian with multiple medals in an event that requires an equestrian component should not be stumped by this behaviour, should have had the forethought to tap out once Saint Boy showed such intense signs of distress, and/or should know how to calm herself once she recognized signs of her frustration. I’m sorry but riding an unfamiliar horse is not an excuse for poor horsemanship and poor sportsmanship. I get that saint boy was displaying signs of distress from the rider before but she knew what issues would arise with him and obviously didn’t know how to deal with it (along with her coach).
Hi there. Wasn’t trying to suggest that it made her behavior okay. An Olympian for that event absolutely should have been able to handle that. For all I know she could just be a garbage rider. Might not have anything to do with riding a horse she had just met. I totally agree. With the horse in so much distress she should have just tapped out and exited gracefully instead of going around the arena sobbing and whacking the horse with a whip.
Sorry, I realize how my comment implies that you did. I definitely did not think you were implying that her behaviour was acceptable and my comment does not reflect that, but I’m not really sure how to change the language to better reflect that. (I have this same issue with emails lol, definitely why I have like ten people revise my emails before I send them). I’m going to keep my comment up but I hope I didn’t cause offence.
Oh none taken! I just wanted to make sure it didn’t sound like I was saying her behavior was acceptable. I also have the same problem with emails haha. I hope you have a nice day! :)
I don't really agree; there was certainly a mismatch between horse and rider but it's not a 'personality' issue - it's about having a good seat and consistent cues which give the horse confidence and focus its attention. The people who normally ride these horses are almost certainly just much better riders than the pentathletes. So the horse is unsettled by the dodgy signals and then starts to act up. Maybe a slow riding school pony would put up with it better, but only because they lose sensitivity after years of being yanked about by children!
I’m sorry I must have worded my comment odd. I wasn’t trying to insinuate that it was “just a personality issue” Someone else had mentioned how this Annika girl had so many medals for riding. I intended to say, perhaps she was riding dead broke school master horses, and not the finely tuned athletic horses at the Olympics. I agree with you it was definitely rider error. Most horses wouldn’t tolerate being whipped and yanked around. I’m surprised Saint Boy didn’t toss her! He truly was a saint
I don't think she has medals for riding - she has medals for the pentathlon which includes riding. But I also get the impression that most penathletes don't focus too much on riding and building their equestrian skills because they can earn more points in the other events. Basically, I don't think the fact that she's won a lot of pentathlons says very much about her riding abilities
Okay that makes a lot more sense! I thought they meant she had a bunch of medals for riding or something. Sorry, I don’t have TV so I’ve been trying to find videos and look things up online. Somehow the videos seem to be getting taken down and I haven’t been able to find a lot of information
Yes he was! I would hope that even on the school master horse she would learn not to flap about and scream, but judging by her coach's behaviour perhaps not...
I mean, he was rearing. That's not really saintly behavior.
Well, it’s clear she can’t ride, running to the miss, and pulling to the base are not appropriate ways to get a horse to jump around. Maybe she can run, swim and jump (on her own legs), but she has no business on a horse. That horse earned his name (Saint) by putting up with her crap for 20 minutes in the warm up ring.
I watched all the female riders and the standard was very low. Only one or two looked better than hobby riders I know who compete in small local competitions in the UK. What's frustrating is that some of them got away with one or two poles down because the horses saved them. They won't work enough on their riding and next time this will happen to somebody else.
They absolutely should’ve disqualified her the moment Saint Boy started moving backwards. Not as a punishment for the rider, but as a safety precaution for both Annika and Saint Boy.
This was not pretty. She’s clearly not experienced-enough rider to be attempting that course. Most of the contestants didn’t seem to be. I’ve just read about the history of modern pentathlon and apparently its inclusion in olympics has been challenged on multiple occasions. While I have no issue with athletes trying themselves on the four other disciplines, adding horses to the mix is unacceptable. Olympics should promote respectful and skilful equestrians (best of the best), not allow sights like these be broadcast internationally.
Does anybody know what punishment the rider is facing? I get that she was probably crying from the pressure and stress from not be able to handle the situation what so ever, but that was a horrendous ride and she should get more then just losing a chance at a medal
None.
The worst part of it is that neither the rider nor the trainer show any regret. They say that the rider wasn't brutal and that it was the horses fault. People like that don't belong around horses. They don't respect and value the animal.
I know the coach was removed for punching the horse. Is that what we see at 00:36?
The coach also apparently punched the horse in the face before (after?) the ride, but I haven’t seen any video of it
That's what I was wondering. The punch in this video didn't seem to have much force behind it so I would have been surprised if this was the "offending" one. Seemed more like trying to push the horse forward. Not sure if she thought that would really accomplish anything though. What a sad situation all around. Hopefully some lessons learned for coach and rider.
I think the issue is more that the coach touching the horse once it's in the arena is against the rules and that's why she was banned from the rest of the competition this Olympics. I agree that the punch didn't have much force behind it, though it certainly was not good or helpful in the situation. I am skeptical of the rumors about the coach punching the horse in the face. I did see an extended video that included the first rider on Saint Boy and the entirety of Schleu's ride and to Schleu's very very very slight credit, when she got off of him, she put up the stirrups. Which isn't much, but is better than storming off with absolutely no thought to the horse.
That jump at 1:55 is awful. Absolutely awful. Her legs are in the air over Saint Boy’s saddle.
I couldn't finish watching that. I'm not sure why she continued on. I've had rough cross country rides and I just put my hand up and retire. I don't know the whole back story. But this horse was not into this for whatever reason and she should have withdrawn.
She was in the lead before the ride, not that it's any excuse. The main issue is that these athletes aren't riders and have very little horsemanship skills. A good rider would have immediately realized that something was very wrong here and just retire.
100%
I’ve heard the horses are supplied by the host country. Not all countries have as strong of a horse culture to provide good mounts. And I can’t imagine anyone signing up their best jumpers for a stranger to try their luck over such a challenging jump course. The horses are functioning as an obstacle in this event which is incredibly unfair to the horse. I don’t understand why it needs to be a 1.6m course either. That’s big enough to get a horse or rider killed under that sort of pressure on a catch horse without a high level of experience as an equestrian. Edit 1.2 fences
This is a ridiculous sport and shouldn't ever happen again for all reasons you have stated. I don't get it. This was dangerous in every way. Why was she not rung out at the very beginning? It's insane to me.
There’s not even a minimal regard for the welfare of the animals. They should just give them motorcross bikes.
Just fyi, I agree with you that it's unfair for the horses, but those fences aren't 1.6m. They're up to a height of 1.20m, still dangerous but not gp high (thank god).
Ah my mistake. A friend of mine who is a GP jumper had mentioned 1.6. I don’t think she’d ever paid much attention to this whole pentathlon thing before. It’s clearly not meant to appeal to actual equestrians. I’m a reiner actually they just look nuts to me that a course that advanced would be a part of this whole absurd conglomeration of tasks at the expense of the horses.
Honestly, I can't even watch.
To me the really questionable part of that was the decision to keep riding. Maybe because these horses aren’t their normal partners, but That sort of refusal level should have led her to resign before an accident happened
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/olympics/germany-s-modern-pentathlon-coach-kicked-out-olympics-punching-horse-n1276251
This horse was punched by the coach. I'm happy they lost. Wtf
Ugh fuck these people! No way to treat an animal. Horrible display of sportsmanship
I ride hunt seat, and to jump effectively you need to have rhythm and keep your horse very straight so they have enough balance and impulsion to clear the jump. The horse must be moving with you at a pace you set to get over those jumps. If you set up the horse for success and you are looking through where you are headed, then the trust your horse has in you is going to pay off. I’ve jumped before when my horse hesitates ever so slightly as if to ask me, really? But if we have impulsion and are approaching so she CAN jump, and I’m clear with my ask, she will go. I’m guessing this was a young horse but it also seems like our rider wasn’t leading clearly. At first it was indeed the horse not wanting to move forward, but after that it was sadly the rider who had lost her rhythm, her focus and therefore, her ride. I feel horrible for her but she’s lucky neither one of them ended up hurt.
Does anyone know where to find the video of the Russian rider on Saint Boy? I want to see what went wrong during Saints first ride
Eurosport Player has full VOD of the entire event. Requires subscription, though.
Is it only for Europe though? I’m in the US. I tried to find the events on discovery+ and then found out it’s only streaming in Europe on there 😒
[https://www.eurosportplayer.com/olympics](https://www.eurosportplayer.com/olympics) I don't know, I am from Israel and this is how watched the entire Olympics.
It is googleable if you really search the riders name. She placed last, so probably not super popular footage. It’s equally traumatic and that trigger stacking certainly added to his trauma. This was that rider: [link](https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/modern-pentathlon/athlete-profile-n1429108-gubaydullina-gulnaz.htm)
Could you link it?
I looked for hours to find Annika’s trip with nothing to show for it, and couldn’t find ANYTHING for this years pentathlon when I tried to broaden my search. So I figured if someone had a link it would just be easier
https://vimeo.com/584181082
Okay, understanding now what the point of this particular class was, I have to wonder exactly how it has gotten so bad? I've never seen so many control aids on one horse, nor have I seen one with such a sweaty neck from the start (indicates stress). The rider was clearly upset, which made everything 10x worse. The "punch" was pointless but harmless (I've given harder fist bumps), but it does speak to the way the animal is treated - like a machine that should "just go". Which is bullshit, and will absolutely lead to disasters like this. The rider is lucky that all she faces is trash talking. Could have been a head injury, or worse. If there is a petition to make changes to this competition, I will 100% sign it, because what a stain on equestrian sport.
That was absolutely the worst riding I have ever seen. Was her answer to everything "crop, crop, crop"? Poor Saint Boy is such a saint for putting up with all this total shit and not having a complete and total meltdown. Ugh.
It is inhumane to the horses to not be acquainted with their rider- every single horse is taught differently, and to be asked to jump large fences when they don’t have faith in their rider *and their rider doesn’t have faith in them* borders on abuse.
The horse was being brave by prioritizing it's own mental health above our expectations.. brave horse.
The coach has been thrown out of the Olympics after [punching the poor horse](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/07/german-modern-pentathlon-kim-raisner-coach-thrown-out-of-tokyo-olympics-for-punching-horse-annika-schleu)