This is an event from the 2020 (held 2021) Tokyo Olympics. The way equestrian works is each rider gets a randomized horse from a pool of horses before the event- so the riders and horses don’t have previous bonds and in theory the training etc. between horses is the same. So part of the event is the rider needing to learn and bond with the horse quickly.
So at the start of the event this Olympian, Annika Schleu of Germany, her horse seemed nervous. It was not responding to her commands as she would like and so, while sobbing, she started whipping the horses rear with a riding crop and by some accounts she pulled it’s bit (mouth piece) hard.
The woman’s trainer was yelling at the horse from the side lines and at one point when they were close enough, the trainer punched the horse closed fist in the rear quarter.
The events led to a disqualification with 0 points, dropping the rider from first place on points to 31st place. There was also ensuing backlash online and elsewhere for what many saw as cruel treatment of the horse (I’m not saying it was or was not cruel in my opinion- just stating the facts with as little bias as possible.)
So asides going from 1st to basically no shot to win and the overall embarrassment of a showing like that in the Olympics, the rider got “fame,” or infamy, from the ensuing controversy.
holy shit that’s brutal. i feel personally that she was being cruel to the horse, so i’m not really sympathetic but the drop in stats is still very rough
So at the start of the event this Olympian, Annika Schleu of Germany, her horse seemed nervous. It was not responding to her commands as she would like and so, while sobbing, she started whipping the horses rear with a riding crop and by some accounts she pulled it’s bit (mouth piece) hard.
The woman’s trainer was yelling at the horse from the side lines and at one point when they were close enough, the trainer punched the horse closed fist in the rear quarter.
So asides going from 1st to basically no shot to win and the overall embarrassment of a showing like that in the Olympics, the rider got “fame,” or infamy, from the ensuing controversy.