Pentathletes beat their hooves – Newspaper Kommersant No. 141 (7342) of 08/05/2022

Former and current modern pentathlon athletes have developed a plan for reform. In their opinion, it will solve the most acute problem for the species, which is currently threatened by the loss of a place in the Olympic program. The plan assumes that jumping, which caused serious claims among sports functionaries and fighters for animal rights, that is, overcoming obstacles on horseback, should, contrary to the earlier decision of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM), still remain one of the disciplines that make up the genre. And it is supposed to be preserved, for example, by ensuring the “harmonization of relations” between animals and riders.

Resource Insidethegames published the contents of a letter called Riding Reformation Document, sent to the International Union of Modern Pentathlon. Its author is the Pentathlon United (PU) group: it brings together former and current athletes performing in one of the “classic” sports, whose rules were formed back in the century before last. The letter is a blueprint for reforms that its authors believe will help the pentathlon solve its most pressing problem.

It is associated with show jumping – one of the five, along with fencing, swimming, shooting and running, disciplines in which pentathletes compete. Show jumping was excluded from this set following an incident at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Then the coach of the German athlete Annika Shloy Kim Reisner hit the horse named Saint Boy in the face. The animal (horses are given to athletes by lot) was stubborn, refused to take barriers, which cost Shloy an Olympic medal, and for Kim Reisner, the blow turned into a disqualification, as the case caused the wrath of numerous animal protection organizations. As a result, UIPM, in order to save its reputation, decided to abandon the equestrian component, taking into account one more claim of sports functionaries. It concerned the elitism and high cost of show jumping, which hindered the expansion of the geography of the pentathlon as a whole.

However, most likely, the Tokyo story was just an excuse to somehow shake up the look that was losing popularity. The fact is that more than a century of Olympic experience did not help the pentathlon get rid of the reputation of one of the least attractive events for spectators at the Olympics. As a result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made it clear to UIPM that it expects steps to increase demand from it when shaping the program of the Games in Los Angeles in 2028. The modern pentathlon was not included in the list of “root” types, in advance, without an additional competition, included in it. The UIPM has responded to the demands by announcing its intention to replace show jumping with a new discipline – overcoming (already without a horse) an obstacle course similar to that used in some television shows. But so far this has not helped the structure to get rid of the threat of losing a place in the Olympic program.

On the contrary, her situation seems to have become even worse. The PU strongly opposed the exclusion of show jumping, basing its position on data from a survey conducted among athletes. It followed that more than 90% of respondents were dissatisfied with the actions of the UIPM and believe that the leadership of the federation is not capable of ensuring the future of modern pentathlon. At the same time, 77% of respondents said that they would most likely leave the pentathlon if the decision on show jumping was not reversed.

In a recent letter, PU explains in detail how she intends to improve the show jumping situation. The organization emphasizes “caring for the welfare of horses” and “harmonizing their relationship with riders”. In fact, these aspects have always been on the agenda, but the UIPM has always left such “care” to the organizers of the competition: in fact, they provide the horses. The PU insists that now the federation itself must control this.

In addition, the association proposes to UIPM to establish a riding academy with the aim of improving the qualifications of athletes in the broadest sense of the word. In other words, the academy should also teach how to handle horses.

And to increase the availability of show jumping, PU came up with a “Memorandum of Understanding”. It will be signed by the federations that are members of the UIPM. The memorandum will provide “systematized regional cooperation”, including between “developed” for the pentathlon and “lagging behind” countries. Representatives of the latter will be able to improve their skills by attending training camps. Finally, a fruitful idea from the point of view of the PU, which nevertheless “firmly believes” that the full-fledged Olympic status of the modern pentathlon will nevertheless “be restored” without the introduction of an obstacle course, looks like a close collaboration between the UIPM and the “profile” structure for show jumping – International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Alexey Dospekhov