The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) has taken a formal vote to drop show jumping from its program following the Paris Olympics in 2024, although protests of the move have come from representatives of numerous nations. However, a group called Pentathlon United has been formed to lobby for keeping riding in the Olympic pentathlon at Los Angeles 2028 and beyond, while the issue has been taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport..
Pentathlon 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.
In a letter to athletes, the pentathlon union–which feared that the sport would be dropped from the Games by the International Olympic Committee– explained the decision, stating, “We would be making a mistake if we were to take our place in the Olympic programme for granted past Paris 2024. It is not granted for us, it is not granted for anybody.”
The organization’s executive board held a secret meeting in which it was decided to remove horseback riding from the program. Riding’s replacement sport for the 2028 Games had yet to be decided.
But while there were countries that support dropping riding, comments from pentathlon supporters from Poland to Denmark and the Czech Republic to Finland have protested the move.
After word of the decision came, more than 700 pentathletes wrote a letter expressing no confidence in the pentathlon organization’s president and board, asking for their resignations, while at the same time they pressed to keep riding in the pentathlon to save the integrity of the sport.
In a letter to the Polish pentathlon association, athletes and coaches said they understood there needed to be changes and standardization of the rules of holding a riding competition as part of the sport, adapting rules not only to competitors’ skills, but also to the horses’ abilities.
At the same time, “There are many solutions, the introduction of which will make horse riding in a modern pentathlon safer for both parties,” those protesting contended in their letter.
A riding working group had been set up by the international governing body to explore whether the equestrian element should be continued in the format that also includes shooting, running, swimming and fencing, which debuted at the 1912 Olympics. There have been innovations since, including running all the sports in a 90-minute broadcast-friendly format, rather than over a period of days.
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 began as a military competition, with women taking part for the first time in 2000. It has not been among the more popular events to watch for viewers of the Games, which endangers its continuing inclusion.
According to “Inside the Games,” UIPM vice-president Joël Bouzou claimed the IOC had requested the removal of riding.
IOC member and UIPM first vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch said there was no demand from the IOC, but that the pentathlon organization had to act proactively to keep the sport in the Games.
“We must rapidly develop a new event – then a chance exists,” he said.
Although modern pentathlon had been called a core sport of the Olympics, meaning it is supposed to have a guaranteed place on the Olympic program, that can change.
Citing such modern sports such as 3×3 basketball, skateboarding and surfing that are more attractive to young people, Samaranch claimed there are “no core sports.”
.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.
There is no comparison between riding in the pentathlon and the Olympic equestrian sports, which are run at the highest standard of athleticism and care for the horse, most of which have been with their riders for many years.