Fear of sumo? Olympic riders say horses could be spooked by statue

KAMIYOGA, Japan – Equestrian riders don’t like surprises. Neither do horses, and it takes years of training to keep them from being afraid.

Of course, no horse in Tuesday night’s Olympic Show Jumping Qualifier had ever seen something like Hurdle # 10.

“When you come in you see the butt of a big guy,” said British runner Harry Charles.

“There is a lot to watch,” added Irishman Cian O’Connor.

“It’s very realistic,” echoed Israeli Teddy Vlock.

The riders say a life-size sumo wrestler placed next to the 10th obstacle on the Olympic 14-jump course may have distracted several horses during qualifying for the individual jump final on Tuesday night. A few pairs moved closer to the barrier, accumulating enough penalty points to prevent entry into Wednesday’s final.

The statue is positioned to the left of a jump placed in the corner of the arena. Hunched over and seemingly ready to attack, the wrestler faces the approaching riders, which means that when they make a sharp turn to jump the first thing the horse and man see is the wedgie created by the mawashi. of the wrestler.

“I noticed that four or five horses were really scared at this,” Charles said.

Most of the obstacles on the course are decorated with a typical Japanese feel – geisha kimonos, a miniature Japanese palace, taiko drums.

None have drawn attention like the sumo wrestler.

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Among the horses alarmed by the setup was France’s Penelope Leprevost, the 2016 show jumping team gold medalist. She was unsure if the wrestler had specifically cast her 12-year-old stallion, Vancouver de Lanlore.

“Maybe,” she said. “We tried to relax our horses in the turn, and they might be surprised to see a vertical so close. I do not know.”

Vlock finished 34th in the 73 horse field. After seeing others having problems, he and Ireland’s trainer Darragh Kenny – also a competitor in Tuesday’s field – insisted on trotting their horses to the 10th jump before starting their races so that the animals can watch it.

The hope was that familiarity would breed bravery.

“It’s very realistic,” Vlock said. “It looks like a person, and it’s a little scary. You know, horses don’t want to see a guy, like, looking intense next to a jump, like he’s ready to fight you.

Vlock and Kenny both cleared the obstacle with no problem. Kenny finished second with no penalty points and with a time of 82.01, while Vlock failed due to other issues.

Of course, it’s hard to know what’s inside a horse’s head. Some runners attributed the problems to the proximity of the jump to the turn. Others blamed the bright lights at the stadium which also raised concerns at jump No 1.

Medal hopefuls Scott Brash of Great Britain and Martin Fuchs of Switzerland believed the cherry blossoms positioned on the other side of the jump were the most likely culprit.

Whatever the cause, it’s no surprise to Olympic veterans that there is drama surrounding the park. The Games have a reputation among riders for designing flashy courses, including an oddly shaped jump in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 that caused similar dismay.

“To be honest, you expect it at the Olympics,” Brash said.

And that’s OK with them.

“You know it’s going to be colorful coming here,” he added. “You know it’s going to be decorative. And it’s beautiful, you know? It’s fantastic. This is what makes it a championship. If it was just old jumps it would be like any other week.