Tokyo Pentathlon SJ

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I'm not surprised she's crying she's tried her best but it really isn't being generous

 

[RachelFerd]

Saint Boy not living up to his name. John, Cairo and Beauty are the winners here. But the sport is not a winner, because it has made for less than edifying viewing.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

She still patted the horse at the end.

 

[milliepops]

very tricky isn't it because she seemed to sort of give up quite a while ago, i mean it's horrible to have that feeling of a horse's good will drying up on you but when you start to lose your emotional grip there's no coming back from it.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Could she appeal having to use that horse?

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

The lovely grey was Jhon I think autocorrect is anglicising the spelling.

 

[LJF0664]

That last round was heart-breaking, she really had no chance - The horse napped its way to the end of the arena with the last rider, and I suspect even its owner is going to have a battle on their hands next time they ride!

 

[Rowreach]

I’ve not been able to watch modern pentathlon jumping for years, and no way would I ever put a horse of mine through it. I think if they want to keep sj as part of it, the athletes should provide their own horses. It’s just wrong putting these animals through it.

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

Felt so sorry for that last rider, the horse had clearly jacked it in the last round and the battle just to get him into the ring to start didn’t bode well

 

[asmp]

That was pretty awful to watch - poor girl.

Now time to switch over

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

You have to wonder if the pressure of her massive lead going in, then a difficult horse was just too much for her. I hope the counselling and support is there so she can come back in 3 years time in Paris.

 

[milliepops]

You have to wonder if the pressure of her massive lead going in, then a difficult horse was just too much for her. I hope the counselling and support is there so she can come back in 3 years time in Paris.

yeah i would think the mental stress aspect of this is quite influential. and of course the horse is then a sponge for your feelings. really tough.

 

[Rowreach]

yeah i would think the mental stress aspect of this is quite influential. and of course the horse is then a sponge for your feelings. really tough.

Again, poor horses.

 

[milliepops]

yeah... no way I'd put one of mine up for the job
i think Kat's point about tightening up the rules about falling off would be a good idea, there were some riders who looked really competent and then it was nice to watch as a sporting idea. the ones with very iffy seats were the ones that made it unpleasant IMO.

 

[piebaldproblems]

Can someone explain where these pentathlon horses come from, because Saint Boy shouldn't have been permitted anywhere near a ring? Seems so unfair to the rider and even more unfair to the horse who was clearly very unhappy before ride even started. Had a horse been behaving like that in any of the equestrian sports, rider would have retired without question. And the commentator overhead talking about how she has to show the horse who's boss...

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I felt really bad for her, she was doing everything I'd have done when it was napping, yet it just wasn't going to play, surely when it was napping at the start they should have given her a different horse? I'm not surprised she was in tears think I would have been, didn't realise she had such a massive lead.

Can't she appeal the horse not being fit for purpose?

Surprised its got a gag in, given it wouldn't move. Watching again she was being a bit "wet" dare I say with the napping but still....

The same horse downed tools for the first rider, surely it wasn't fit for purpose they should surely at least trundle along?

 

[Coblover63]

Oh my! That was so uncomfortable to watch ?

 

[Lexi_]

Oof I’m just watching it on BBC1 now. Not a pleasant picture for the sport to see a slo-mo of someone crying while whipping the horse ?

I seem to remember from previous Olympics that they swapped out some horses who’d had a terrible round 1? That, or a sensible discard score for elimination would seem a much more logical way to do things!

 

[ihatework]

I just don’t understand the point of sj in modern pentathlon. It’s not a level playing field at all. It’s unfair on the horses and unfair on the athletes.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Feels desperately unfair. Both riders on Saint Boy were eliminated. Surely if a horse is physically not fit to continue they would swap the rider into a new one so why can’t vets or independent judges also assess the psychological fitness of the horse.

 

[Rowreach]

I’m ?? at the people blaming the horses! They didn’t ask to be there, they have to be of a certain standard to be picked but then they are subjected to variable and questionable standards of riders and are expected to perform like an inanimate bit of equipment, to make the sport “fair”?

 

[MuddyMonster]

Surely it's hard though, to judge what's the horse 'not being fit for purpose' and what is the rider not gelling with the horse or not having the emotional fitness and/or technical ability to deal with what horse's throw at you.

I'm absolutely not saying I could ride at the Olympics (or that standard of horse), good grief no, *but* I can almost guarantee you that if someone started to lose their emotions to the point of them hysterical sobbing (quite understandably so given the circumstances) my sometimes backwards-thinking chap would revert, well, backwards.

Surely being in control of your emotions is such a big part of being on a horse in the first place, whether that's a local SJ competition or the Olympics?

 

[Gloi]

You are joking D+ has stopped part way through the british rider's round !

I thought that was an odd name for the horse ??

 

[milliepops]

the rules do apparently cover something about riders being able to request a reserve horse if the first round has had 4 refusals or 2 rider falls. so i guess the german athlete must have had that chance and declined it?

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

I'll admit it's an odd sport. Invented specifically for the olympics and to identify the best all around military personnel.

The skills are those needed to escape being held by an enemy. First you have to sword fight your way out, swim across a moat, ride a strange horse to safety, then run and shoot the final stage to safety.

I thought the horses provided here were very good quality and better than previous olympics. It was just that last one that possibly should have been substituted before its second round. The german rider whipped it as recommended by the coach but she didn't really want to (same way I use the whip when told to, you can tell I'm not really).

This is the last time we'll see it in this format. For Paris it will be a much shorter competition to be fully completed in 90mins.

 

[milliepops]

in addition from the quick reading I've done they have had to do a jumping test at the horse inspection so with their regular rider they must be suitable.

 

[Ossy2]

the rules do apparently cover something about riders being able to request a reserve horse if the first round has had 4 refusals or 2 rider falls. so i guess the german athlete must have had that chance and declined it?

that’s interesting to know, wonder why then they didn’t take up a reserve horse.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I’m not blaming the horse RR. But if a horse throws in the towel mentally it’s horribly unfair on both horse and rider to force him to continue. Saint Boy was eliminated in round 1. Perhaps an elimination should disqualify a horse from being sent back in as if the first rider totally screws up the horse then it isn’t fair on the 2nd rider OR on the horse.

 

[shortstuff99]

I have to be honest and say the riding (bar a couple) was one of the most unfair thing on horses I have ever seen. Taking advantage of a horses kind nature, it was horrifying to watch.

That will make people really question why horses are in the Olympics. Why not make it 1m or do a dressage test?

 

[Annagain]

in addition from the quick reading I've done they have had to do a jumping test at the horse inspection so with their regular rider they must be suitable.

Yes, someone I know provided a horse in London, she had to do a demo ride for the competitors from what I remember - a quick warm up and jumping 3 or 4 fences. I believe BS ran the selection process for the horses and chose those who were deemed the most likely to cope with not such good riders.

I do feel for the German girl but that also for the horse. I only watched on BBC so didn't see him with the first rider but he really had no trust in his second rider - I assume because his experience with first rider had damaged it. He will be a pretty successful national level jumper if the London process was anything to go by.