The enemy of the Olympic horses: some sumo wrestlers

The equestrian competitions of the Olympic Games are very different from other sports. By having the tremendous importance of horses in the running of the tests, new factors are added that can decide the results and that have to do with the animals. In Tokyo 2020 a new enemy has emerged for horses and they are sumo figures.

Specifically, in the jumping competitions they have introduced a representation of a sumo wrestler in one of their obstacles, and it could be scaring the horses. According to NBC, the British jockey Harry Charles said that a problem related to the figures occurred in the qualifying round. "I saw four or five horses get scared, really," he explained.

The difficulty is in the tenth position of the 14 total obstacles. It is composed of a sumo wrestler, squatting and a real representation. The horses move away at the sight of him. Harry Charles said it was a "shock" to meet him: "When you get up close, you see a big guy's butt."

And not only the Great Britain team rider "reported" it. It was also highlighted by Teddy Vlock, from Israel. "He's down to earth. He looks like a person and he's kind of creepy. Horses don't want to see a guy next to a jump who's up for a fight with you," he said.

As for whether there were athletes directly affected, there have been no "complaints", but events that may be related have been seen. For example, one of the biggest names in equestrian competition in the capital of the rising sun, Jessica Springsteen, was hit after the sumo-themed fence. The daughter of the "Boss" passed that difficulty, but her horse, Don Juan, would have problems later on a rail.