Call on the International Olympic Committee to ban all equestrian competitions

The Tokyo Olympics in 2020 were unprecedented in many ways, but we could all predict one thing: the suffering of horses used for equestrian competition will continue. Show jumping, dressage, cross-country and other equestrian sports can be extremely brutal. Just take a look at these incidents – and PETA’s viral video viewed nearly 1 million times – from this year’s Olympics:

German pentathlon athlete Annika Schleu was riding a horse named Saint Boy when she was filmed whipping and nudging him during the jump portion of the competition after he refused to enter the track. As the rider’s frustrations escalated, Schleu’s coach, Kim Reisner, was shown hitting the apparently overwhelmed Saint Boy. After the incident, Reisner was rightfully expelled from the Olympics.

This was not an anomaly. Earlier this year, show jumper Kevin Lemke aggressively and repeatedly hit his luck in California. PETA reported the incident and Lemke was suspended. But fines and suspensions are clearly not enough to deter other coaches or riders from similar reckless behavior.

The Swiss Olympic team says a horse named Jet Seth had to be euthanized after a leg injury in the eventing team competition. https://t.co/x1tSFgQyBI

– 12NewsNow (@ 12NewsNow) August 1, 2021

The Jet Set, which was ridden by the Swiss athlete Robin Godel, was apparently injured while running cross-country during the Olympic competition. Veterinarians diagnosed the injury as an irreparable tear of a ligament in one of his legs, and he was put to sleep.

#BREAKING

Sian O’Connor and Kilkenny withdrew from the Olympic team after the horse suffered a nosebleed in the individual competition. Https://t.co/Ev3SnySmNg pic.twitter.com/K0gpLXDPAK

– Independent Sports (@IndoSport) August 4, 2021

During another show jumping competition, blood gushed from Kilkenny’s noseand although this was clearly visible to the onlookers, the Irish rider Cyan O’Connor forced the horse to complete the distance. The officials did nothing to stop the competition to check it out.

One thing is clear: horses don’t care about gold medals. And, unlike people, they do not want to participate in dangerous events – they are forced. Take action to urge the International Olympic Committee to immediately cancel all equestrian events. Leave the Olympics to the interested participants.