The Olympics is in fully swing, with a busy equestrian schedule. This year it’s in the incredible Palace of Versailles. As a long time fan of the giant building, I’m also a fan of riding next to it. I’m never going to the Olympics but I can still dream of riding there, maybe there’s a trail ride. Something much more low key.
But if you need a break from watching, here’s some drama from previous years to try to fill in the gap.
Bertil Sandström 1932
We are first going to go way back in time to the 1932 games, where Karl Bertil Sandström was riding for Sweden. He was an experienced Olympian who had ridden in 2 other Olympics, earning silver medals. 1932 was looking to be another good year for him, as he got another silver in the team dressage. He also was about to earn a second silver medal in the individual event, but he was accused of the unthinkable – making clicking noises while riding his horse. He pleaded with the judges, saying it was just the sound of his saddle creaking. Back in this time when there were no video camera for instant replay, it was just one man’s word against another. And they believed the other guy. Bertil Sandström was banished all the way back to last place.
So kids, just remember, don’t you dare talk to your horse, or, make sure your saddle is fully lubricated to avoid any squeaks. Or don’t, if you want to try to play off the squeaky saddle angle. But it didn’t work for Sandström so it probably won’t work for you.
The Dressage Judging Scandal of 1956
In 1956, the Olympics were held in Australia. Except for the horse part, because it turns out that Australia soil can’t hold the weight of a horse. Just kidding, Australia has (had?) a 6 month quarantine rule, and no one wanted to wait around that long. Instead, the equestrian part of the games was moved to Stockholm, Sweden.
This was the stage for some major dressage drama.
Turns out, even in the ye old times of old, people still had different opinions of what dressage should look like. Germany judges thought that German dressage was the best. Swedish judges thought that Swedish dressage was the best.
But of course, despite these strongly held beliefs on dressage, people who weren’t the German and Swedish judges thought they were simply showing extreme favoritism towards their own countries.
This was such a big deal that the International Olympic Committee threatened to remove dressage from the competition. By the time the next Olympics came around, 1960, the FEI managed to reach a compromise with them. The team competition was removed, and only individual competition was allowed. The three judges had to be from non-participating countries, and the judges discussed for 20 minutes after each ride. The final rides were filmed and reviewed. It took them 3 days to announce the results.
The Olympic Committee evidently forgave dressage, as the next Olympics (1964) reintroduced team dressage, and picked up the pace for judging. It was only a 2 hour delay in announcing the results.
2020 Pentathlon Event
In 2020, many horse lovers were surprised to find out there was an obscure Olympic event that included horses. Except that surprise quickly turned to outrage when they saw what was going on.
Pentathlon is an event that includes fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. It’s modeled off of the original pentathlon held in ancient Greece, meant to test soldiers for battle. However in these modern times, none of these people are going into battle, so they are just randomly assigned a horse, and given 20 minutes to practice with it before they are sent into the arena of with 12 jumps.
In 2020, the German athlete was unable to control her horse. The horse was refusing, and the athlete seemed unable to deal with the pressures, and/or wasn’t that great of a rider. Her coach, who had been encouraging her to hit the horse, eventually hit the horse herself.
The athlete ended up in last place and the coach was disqualified from the Olympics, but it started the broader conversation of, what on earth is going on here? Are these people even riders?
After much discussion, the horseback riding part of the pentathlon was dropped for future Olympic games. I don’t think anyone was sad to see it go.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief intermission in the Olympic games. Now let’s return to the eye feast that is the Equestrian sports in Paris.