German team rides against scandal headlines
In Tokyo, the German team missed the medals in Eventing, but Paris is expected to put them back on the podium. However, before the competitions begin, it's no longer just about sport. The ongoing scandals heavily burden equestrian sports.
The German team, including Olympic champions Julia Krajewski and Michael Jung, posed happily before the Olympic rings. For their obligatory photo, the eventing riders had taken one last little detour into the city before the title fights finally began on Saturday. Gold is expected before Versailles Castle, but before the Olympics began, the glamour of the Equestrian Games was tarnished by the fall of Charlotte Dujardin.
While Krajewski passed the constitution test with Nickel, Jung with Chipmunk, Christoph Wahler with Carjatan, and Calvin Böckmann with The Phantom of the Opera, animal welfare organizations are calling for the elimination of equestrian events from the Olympic program. "It's time for the Olympic Games to enter the modern era," said PETA Vice President Kathy Guillermo to the IOC: "Remove equestrian events from the Olympic program."
The fear of a turning point in the 112-year history of equestrian sports at the Olympics is growing, and these demands are not empty. With numerous scandals, the sport has repeatedly poured oil into the fire of critics in recent years. Before Dujardin, dressage riders Andreas Helgstrand and Carina Kaspersen Krüth from Denmark, as well as Cesar Parra from the USA, had heated up the discussions with questionable training methods.
The "Exceptions" Pile Up
And eventing also wrote plenty of negative headlines. Two-time Olympic champion Mark Todd from New Zealand was suspended in 2022 for brutally hitting a horse that refused a water obstacle in the terrain. Belgian Joris Vanspringel was suspended from the World Federation FEI for nine months in 2019 for animal cruelty. Most recently, an application for a penalty order was filed against the German spring rider Max Kühner for a violation of animal protection law. The often-cited "exceptions" are piling up.
The loud protests must be somehow silenced by the German riders in the coming days. The joint Paris excursion was a good start. Krajewski, Jung, and Wahler want to forget the missed podium with the team in Tokyo. "As a team, we have decided to win a medal," said Krajewski: "We are only three riders, so no mistakes can happen. But we are all well prepared and go positively into the competition."
Krajewski secured a historic gold coup for herself three years ago, becoming the first female Olympic champion in her discipline. Replacing Sandra Auffarth shortly before the Olympics, the 35-year-old with her ten-year-old bay mare Nickel joined the team for Paris.
Krajewski puts her personal success behind the team result. "The most important thing is always to bring a valuable, solid team result and then to see where you stand in the individual ranking at the end," she said.
Despite the ongoing scandals and criticism from animal welfare organizations, the German equestrian team, led by Olympic champions Julia Krajewski and Michael Jung, remains optimistic about their chances in equestrianism at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. Their focus is on the team result, aiming to secure a medal and potentially improve upon their missed podium finish in Tokyo.
