Draw, stress, animal welfare… why horse riding will be removed from the modern pentathlon at the 2028 Olympic Games ?

Lu Lijiu du Yunnan tombe du cheval pendant l’épreuve équestre du pentathlon moderne féminin des 11e Jeux nationaux chinois à Yantai, dans la province de Shandong, le 26 octobre 2009. MAXPPP TEAMSHOOT – YAN YAN

Horse riding is one of the five disciplines that make up the modern pentathlon. But due to recurring problems and for the well-being of the animal, it will disappear at the 2028 Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Olympics have just ended. But horse riding will no longer be part of the modern pentathlon, an event that has been present since the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, reports Le Point. It will be replaced by the obstacle course on foot, joining swimming, fencing, and the laser run, which combines shooting and running.

"The basic idea wasn't bad, but it's now outdated. Many things have changed since the creation of the Olympic Games and it's normal for certain practices to evolve, disappear or be replaced. The equestrian event in the pentathlon had its glory days. Many people took advantage of it and there's nothing to regret. Turning the page seems to me to be a wise decision", Pierre Defrance, owner of the equestrian estate of Sandillon, in Loiret, tells our colleagues.

A horse draw

A horse that refuses to move forward is a ten-point penalty. The riding event, which consisted of a course of 10 obstacles over 350 to 400 meters, involved a high level of complexity due to the random drawing of the horses. The athletes discovered their horse only twenty minutes before the start of the event, and had to deal with an animal they did not know, indicates theHuffpost. This rule was designed to demonstrate the adaptability of pentathletes, but also introduced a great deal of uncertainty and stress.

Animal abuse

The notable incident at the Tokyo Olympics, where German Annika Schleu, who was set to win gold, had difficulties with a recalcitrant horse and resorted to controversial correction methods, has increased criticism of this event. Indeed, she was unable to create fluid communication with the animal she had just met a few minutes earlier. The rider therefore accumulated errors and gave blows with her whip and spurs. She ended up brutally hitting the horse's rump once she returned to the locker room.

“The horse is a living, sensitive being. “It's not equipment,” underlines Fanny Delaval, national technical advisor for para-dressage. According to Le Point, replacing horse riding with obstacle racing is seen as a necessary measure to avoid complications and improve the ethics of the competition.