Pentathlon Story

 Last night, the sports hype on ZDF's (Channel Two, public TV) features was about this horse business at the Olympics.  

So the basic story is this.  This German gal was competing in the Pentathlon there in Tokyo.  For those who aren't into this sport.....it's five 'tests' tied together. The five?  Cross country running (3,200 meters), freestyle swimming of 200 meters, fencing, pistol shooting, and equestrian show jumping (involving 15 jumps).

This German gal was assigned this horse (it's not her horse, and she's not had a chance to really get used to the mindset.  

I watched the video.....it's awful hot, and the sweat is just pouring off this horse.  If you asked me....'heat frustration' had set in and he just wasn't going to be helpful.

He was basically refusing to jump.  Then the trainer for the German gal yelled at her....apply the 'stick' (whack him on the butt a couple of times).  It just wasn't that smart because the horse already had a mindset, and probably wasn't going to improve.  Heat being a major part of this issue?  I think so.  

Well....all of this drove the German gal to tears....nothing was working.  Lot of folks reacted when viewing the situation....animal cruelty.  

I suspect that the Olympics crowd will dump this part of the Pentathlon in the future.....going to bicycles.