Will There Be Olympic Equestrian Competitions at the 2012 Games?
Friday August 29, 2008
Over the years there have been grumblings from many quarters that the equestrian sports should be dropped from the Olympic games. Some think that the games should represent human, not horse, athleticism. Some welfare groups believe that the sports are dangerous to horses, and several eventing tragedies have put that sport in an unkind light. Doping and drug scandals have tainted the games. The expense of building the stabling and venues has also come under criticism. Now, according to an article in Horse and Hound magazine, there is a possibility that we might not be seeing the equestrian sports at the 2012 London games. At issue are complaints about judging, doping, and safety. What do think? Is the future bleak for Olympic Equestrian sports? What needs to happen to keep equestrianism in the Olympics? Have your say in the comments below.
Comments
You may be interested in this article on my website about Patrick Hickey, the president of the European Olympic Committee, claiming that equestrian’s place on the 2016 programme is under threat:
http://www.insidethegames.com/show-news.php?id=3310
Thanks for the link!
I think this is barbaric. We have strange sports in the Olympics so why not equestrian. The riders who use drugs etc on their horses have themselves to blame. More discipline is needed thats all so nothing bad or cheating related can happen.
Horse and rider…a team that should be the most respected in the Olympic sports events…there are drugs in every walk of life…horses are humans most loyal companion and deserve to compete and be treated like royality.
I agree with both of the above commentors, horse riding should be very will respected. There’re so many random sports on the Olympics and when compared horse riding’s not that strange. As for drugs, they’re everywhere in the Olympics, it’s for the rider to blame not the sport.
Take equestrian out of the Olympics? NO! Horseback riding is just as athletic, if not more athletic, than any other sport in the Olympics- and that goes for the rider! Have the people who grumble about equestrian ever tried riding an energetic, 16 hand horse around a large course of six foot jumps? I don’t think so! Besides, if you’re going to take equestrian out of the Olympics, you may as well take out trampolining and diving. How “sporty” are those?