Annika Schleu
Annika Schleu lost her Olympic medal in the modern pentathlon in show jumping. Since then she has been accused of cruelty to animals.
The 31-year-old German had gone into show jumping as the leader in the Olympic pentathlon on Friday when the horse “Saint Boy” that was drawn for her did not want the same as the German did. The horse bucked several times on the parcous, Schleu then received zero points and lost the Olympic medal.
During the ride, the pentathlete tried desperately to complete the course with “Saint Boy”, repeatedly using the whip to get the horse to trot. The German national trainer Kim Raisner had even loudly demanded, shouting “Hit it right”.
Animal rights activists then ran a storm and accused the two Germans of animal cruelty. The World Federation of Modern Pentathlon reacted immediately, excluding Raisner from the Olympics. Schleu received so many hate comments on Instagram that the German has now deleted her account.
The German Minister of Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, had also taken a clear position vis-à-vis “Bild”. “The pictures we saw on Friday are nothing more than cruelty to animals,” said the CDU politician.
In the meantime Schleu also spoke up and defended her approach. “I dealt with the horse to the best of my knowledge. It was already clear that you had to be a little more consistent, but I was never rude. If you look at the pictures, you can also see that the reins are loose,” explained the 31-year-old.
And added: “I do not think that it was in a way that riders would not do, to teach a horse obedience and convince it to enter the course. Of course, I feel attacked when someone says that I am inhuman when allegations of cruelty to animals are made. “
Schleu was already the second participant in the modern pentathlon who had ridden “Saint Boy”. Even the Russian Gulnaz Gubaydullina was unable to keep the gelding on course. Klaus Schormann, President of the World Association, cannot understand that “Saint Boy” was not removed from the tournament. “The responsible veterinarian has absolutely failed!”
So there is still a lot of work to be done.
