This summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo have been full of surprises and dramatic twists and turns. So it stands to reason that eventually, even the horses in the equestrian events would start getting in their feelings.
It seems that a deeply random but "very realistic" statue of a sumo wrestler on one of the equestrian courses, exposed booty and all, is freaking the horses the heck out. Several Olympians have reported that their horses have been spooked by the figure lurking at obstacle 10.
Just when we all thought these Olympics were finally winding down, we've got horses spooked by a sumo butt. What's next?!
"It's very realistic," one competitor said.https://www.huffp.st/21SsgdU— HuffPost Weird News (@HuffPost Weird News) 1628088513
Positioned near a jump in the corner of the equestrian arena, the sumo wrestler statue is molded as if poised to attack: hunched down, arms out, mean-mugging at all who pass by.
The "wrestler" provides an interesting spectacle for horses and riders. As British rider Harry Charles evocatively put it:
"As you come around, you see a big guy's a**."
Add that to the statue's outstretched arms and snarling face, and quite a few horses have said, "Oh hell no" as they've approached. And who can blame them?
Israeli rider Teddy Vlock explained:
"It does look like a person, and that's a little spooky. You know, horses don't want to see a guy, like, looking intense next to a jump, looking like he's ready to fight you."
Fair enough! But for a few Olympians, the sumo figure has spelled their competitive demise. After their horses came to a screeching (or neighing?) halt at the obstacle next to the wrestler and refused to get any closer, the riders were docked enough points that they were unable to qualify for the Wednesday finals.
Naturally, people on Twitter had a field day with the idea of horse's being spooked by a giant sumo butt on an equestrian course, which is admittedly a phrase we never dreamed we'd need to write.
I know nothing about horses but know this was a bad idea.— I\u2019m speaking. (@I\u2019m speaking.) 1628083467
I got spooked when I saw the sumo wrestler.— Federico Ogly (@Federico Ogly) 1628043837
horses know what they knowhttps://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1422733533739589634\u00a0\u2026— Mark Skulley (@Mark Skulley) 1628041156
No one will convince me this article wasn't written by @TheBeaverton or @TheOnionhttps://twitter.com/AP_Sports/status/1422711156410552320\u00a0\u2026— Rod Dunn (@Rod Dunn) 1628046573
I\u2019ve spent a lot of time keeping up with the headlines out of Tokyo, but this one is my favoritehttps://twitter.com/ap_sports/status/1422711156410552320\u00a0\u2026— Gillian Brooks (@Gillian Brooks) 1628040695
Fairhttps://twitter.com/AP_Sports/status/1422711156410552320\u00a0\u2026— J.J. Hensley (@J.J. Hensley) 1628040413
The best story of the Olympicshttps://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/2020-tokyo-olympics-equestrian-riders-claim-sumo-wrestler-statue-may-be-frightening-their-horses/\u00a0\u2026— Adi Joseph (@Adi Joseph) 1628119944
Anyone asked the very obvious question? Why was a life-sized or any size sumo wrestler sculpture even in the arena much less next to a jump for an equestrian event?— Ed Shields (@Ed Shields) 1628018326
Quick question: WTFhttps://twitter.com/AP/status/1422632636699271169\u00a0\u2026— Jennie W \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf79\ud83d\udd2c\u270a (@Jennie W \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf79\ud83d\udd2c\u270a) 1628018548
the horses need to grow up tbhhttps://twitter.com/nypost/status/1423018674554814467\u00a0\u2026— big guy on campus? (@big guy on campus?) 1628122164
It is tradition to decorate the equestrian courses with visual elements from the culture of the host country. But perhaps in the future we can steer clear of nearly naked men in attack mode!
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