To think that equestrian events are ridiculous

Part of the problem is that the u19s usually just don't have the riding phase in their competitions. So loads of teens come through and don't start riding until they absolutely have to.

I know several kids who started riding for pentathlon at 16 then had one lesson a month.

Agree op. Load of crap.

It wasn't from Tokyo Olympics, it was from London but lots of competitors schedules read out as it was the full footage and many were not regular riders - I got the link from a post on here but it was just the full footage of the London games on YouTube so easy enough to find. Was quite a long watch though. I haven't seen any of this game's pentathlon showjumping apart from the clips of AS but I did think whilst watching London that the course was too technical and too big for the abilities. Not sure if the courses should be easier or if the pentathletes should be better riders to compete at Olympic level? Some of the riding as you say is terrible but there was also some pretty uncooperative or unsuitable horses. It does at least demonstrate that of a horse does not want to do something or isn't ridden in the manner they as an individual likes then you're not going to make them do it!

I think making it XC risk it becoming a bloodbath based on the current riding skills of many of the competitors (which look better suited to nothing more challenging than a handy pony competition).

@liveforsummer which athlete said they only ride twice a month? Do you have a link? If so, that is absolutely appalling. They wouldn't only train for the running twice a month and expect to be successful. The riding should be no different. If anything, that is the trickiest element and should be practised the most.

The standard of riding was, on the whole, very poor and demonstrated all of the things the general public love to bash about equestrian sport. I think UIPM are going to come under fire for this in a big way. Quite right too.

The riding element either needs to be made significantly easier to represent the low standard; changed somehow to become a scored ride somewhat similar to working hunters and equitation where you are scored on style and performance too; or made much more difficult and be a cross country element, as is the case in Pony Club tetrathlon competitions, so that the horsemanship and skill is the foundation of the sport.

It's on Discovery plus

I can't find a single bit of footage that shows AS's pentathlon ride in full and in order. It's hard to judge exactly what was behind all that from the pictures and not in order clips I've seen. Apparently that horse didn't jump for the last rider either. I didn't see it to know if that rider was bad and put the horse off altogether or if the horse, in the first place was entirely unsuited to the competition. Looking at the tack the horse was wearing I'd say it's at least in part the latter. Likely a combination of both. Reports say that she was already in tears before she entered the ring. That would definitely contribute as that lack of confidence is certainly communicated to the horse. That being said when the horse was actually going forward she looked like a decent rider with a steady seat and quiet hands unlike many I've seen in that event. On a willing horse I feel there might not be too much to criticise about her riding. Quite an unfortunate set of circumstances for the horse mostly but for rider as well.

What does income have to do with their riding ability?

Some of the riders are doing what some of the posters have been wrongly accusing the professional riders of doing.

I think you'll find that most pentathlon competitors are as 'professional' as most dressage riders are when it comes to income, at the Olympic level.

I agree too. I've been on this thread backing equestrian events but the standard of riding is really patchy in modern pentathlon. There's no way I'd let a horse of mine be used (not that I have one but YKWIM). Some of the riders are doing what some of the posters have been wrongly accusing the professional riders of doing.

I thought the same thing re the pentathlon. I was shocked how novice they were for this level of competition. One rider stated they ride 2 times a month while training. That's simply not enough! I've ridden for 35 years but would still need to train, with instruction for a good while to be able to do a course like that justice . You can't just rock up the the Olympics with 2 days a month practice at anything let alone something needing so much skill, strength and balance

I'm not a fan of having horse riding in the modern pentathlon, I don't think it's fair on the horses to have complete strangers trying to get them round a show jumping course, even though the course is nowhere near 'pure' SJ level. And it annoys me that so many of the competitors look so comparatively novicey in that phase; it's like a gymnast being part of the all-round competition but not bothering to practice balancing on the beam!

Some of the riding in the pentathlon was dreadful - those poor horses having their mouths hung onto and riders with little balance wobbling all over the place. The horse that the German rider was on was a very good example that you can't make a horse do anything it doesn't want to! There were several more subtle horses doing that too - the number of refusals and horses ploughing through jumps - that wasn't 'a missed stride' it was the horse going 'nope - you can't ride I aint gonna jump'.

For those who were listening to the commentator , when a horse swishes it's tail like those horses were it is NOT evidence of the horse enjoying itself - its evidence that the horse is not happy.

I've just been watching the modern pentathlon when a poor German athlete was unable to persuade her horse to participate in the showjumping round. It was really interesting demonstrating how much of a relationship rider and horse need to have.

And the curb rein of the double bridle is held by the pinky finger the possible pressure is minuscule

You know, the more I read the less I think I know what the bit IS for. If a bit is not for steering and not for stopping, and all control is from the legs and seat, why does a dressage horse need a double bridle

As a pp said it's all part of the communication. You use gentle squeezes, some barely noticeable to communicate to the horse what you want. A double bridle has more commutation points for even more subtle and more advanced instruction that day to day riding horses don't need as they are just working at a basic level. Same as in cycling you have more/different gear for a competition road bike as you do for cycling to the park and a dancer might have a different standard of shoes at a competitive level than a 4 year old doing a ballet class

Personally, I don't really agree with double bridles as such, I do agree that in order to use one you need to be soft in the hand and yielding, but I have never really got my head around it being 'better' to essentially have to have the horse in a stronger and chunkier bit(s) the higher you go, to me (no great competition rider) the same results from a snaffle bit would show better training.

But then I also am open to an explanation from someone who has an answer and understand that I don't know everything there is to know about horses and dressage because I've ridden and been around horses for a long time and competed at lower levels in a loose ring, jointed snaffle with a lozenge.

If you steer by dragging on the bit in a horse's mouth, you're doing it wrong. All you should be doing is gently shifting hands and shoulders (which happens naturally as you turn your head to look where you want to go) to put minimal pressure on one side of the horse's mouth. At the same time as you move your hands, you also move your legs a little, and that along with your shoulder movement shifts your balance in the saddle, and all of these things cue a horse to turn.

So you don't 'steer with the bit' as such, it's just a part of the process. I was riding lead file last week, and turned the horse I was riding up a lane at a right angle to the lane I was on. To the uninitiated eye, I didn't do a damn thing, but she turned, ears pricked, alert and happy.

Somebody who rides seriously may be along to offer further info.

The FEI is opening increasingly large levels of competition to single bridles and snaffle bits because the double doesn’t suit every horse or situation. Nationally you can compete at any level in a plain snaffle, and internationally through 2*.

You know, the more I read the less I think I know what the bit IS for. If a bit is not for steering and not for stopping, and all control is from the legs and seat, why does a dressage horse need a double bridle?