Show jumping will be dropped from the modern pentathlon lineup after the Paris Olympics in 2024, according to several media accounts.
The sport received an unwelcome spotlight in Tokyo after a horse refused with a German rider who had been leading the competition to that point. She whipped the horse and burst into tears, a moment memorialized in a photo that made headlines around the world. Her mount was punched by her coach, who was disciplined by being sent home.
The International Modern Pentathlon Union Executive Board held a secret meeting this week in which it was decided to remove horseback riding from the program, the media outlets that ran the story stated. The board said it will issue a press release tomorrow, but did not give details. The word is that cycling could replace riding.
A riding working group had been set up to explore whether the equestrian element should be continued in the format that also includes shooting, running, swimming and fencing. The panel’s recommendations originally were scheduled to be announced during an executive board meeting at the end of this month.
Modern pentathlon participants are assigned a horse and have just 20 minutes before competing in the jumping. It’s a big ask for athletes who are not accomplished riders. The five-discipline event was introduced to the Games in 1912 as a military competition, with women taking part for the first time in 2000. It has not among the more popular events to watch among viewers of the Games.
Meanwhile, people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for all equestrian disciplines to be dropped from the Olympics, not just the riding phase of modern pentathlon. The FEI (International Equestrian Federation), which is the governing body for the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and grand prix-level show jumping, does not regulate pentathlon.
“Just as the Olympics evolved to include sports that are of current interest, like skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing, in a world that increasingly refuses to accept abuse in any form, it’s time to remove sports that are no longer supported by the public,” PETA’s senior vice-president of the equine matters department, Kathy Guillermo, wrote to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.