Sumo scare? Riders say horses might be spooked by statue

Sumo scare? Riders say horses might be spooked by statue

KAMIYOGA, Japan (AP) — Equestrian jumpers aren’t keen on surprises. Neither are the horses, and it takes years of training to keep them from getting spooked.

Of course, no horse in Tuesday night’s Olympic jumping qualifier had ever seen anything like obstacle No. 10.

“As you come around, you see a big guy’s (butt),” British rider Harry Charles said.

“There’s a lot to look at,” Ireland’s Cian O’Connor added.

“It is very realistic,” echoed Israel’s Teddy Vlock.

Riders say a life-size sumo wrestler positioned next to the 10th obstacle on the 14-jump Olympic course may have distracted several horses in qualifying for the individual jumping final Tuesday night. A few pairings pulled up short of the barrier, accumulating enough penalty points to prevent entry into Wednesday’s finals.

The statue is positioned to the left of a jump placed in the corner of the arena. Hunched over and seemingly ready to attack, the wrestler is facing away from approaching riders, meaning that when they complete a sharp turn to take on the jump, the first thing horse and human see is the wedgie created by the wrestler’s mawashi.

“I did notice four or five horses really taking a spook to that,” Charles said.