Following a much-publicized and unfortunate event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 where modern pentathlete Annika Schleu of Germany repeatedly whipped the horse she had been assigned, Saint Boy, and her coach subsequently punched the animal, the sport’s governing body UIPM has decided to replace equestrian with obstacle course racing (OCR). A list of 62 proposals were considered, taking into account athletes’ views, medical risks, technical aspects, TV, media, and marketing opportunities. Two obstacle sport disciplines have been selected for testing this spring to replace riding.
The five originals events in the modern pentathlon — fencing, swimming, horse riding, pistol shooting, and running — were chosen to reflect skills that 19th-century cavalry soldiers needed to possess. It was introduced at the 1912 Olympic Games by Pierre de Coubertin, and many believe the equestrian portion is now outdated and irrelevant and needs to be replaced with a more popular sport that would attract more, and younger, viewers.
This announcement was met with relief for many, as concerns about horse welfare have been expressed for years, but some participants have said that they will refuse to compete if equestrian is removed. A poll by Pentathlon United, an independent athlete representative group founded following the announcement in 2021 to drop riding from the sport, found that over 95% of athletes were unhappy with the way the UIPM conducted the change, citing lack of transparency, poor communication and a dearth of athlete representation. The UIPM countered, saying that athletes had played a central role in the process, with a focus group of 26 competitors from 22 nations being consulted.