Annika Schleu is significantly involved in what is probably the greatest excitement of the Olympic Games. The modern pentathlete receives a shit storm after dealing with the horse drawn for her. The 31-year-old rejects the accusation of cruelty to animals and explains how she is doing.
Ms. Schleu, how did you experience the competition and the situation?
Fate took its course when I saw beforehand that the other sportswoman had already received three refusals with my horse. We then had the hope that I could take a replacement horse. That would of course have been easier for us than with a horse that has already experienced stress on the course. Unfortunately, there was no such chance. The owner of my horse then gave me tips, I took it all to heart, it also worked very well in the warm-up area, so that I actually went into the competition relatively self-confidently.
And what happened then?
But then I noticed that the horse had blocked completely and didn’t really want to. I tried with a light hand – my hand was not close to the front of the mouth – with my legs and with my voice to get the horse forward so that it could even enter the course. But it didn’t want to leave the corner at all. Unfortunately, in this stressful situation – in first place at the Olympic Games – I lost my nerve a little faster and started to cry. I then tried to use the device.
Was that a mistake at that moment?
I don’t think it was in a way that riders wouldn’t, to teach obedience to a horse and convince it to enter the course. This is where these pictures were taken. Of course, I feel attacked when it is said that I am inhuman when allegations of cruelty to animals are raised. I treated 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.
Has something like this happened to you before in competitions?
It has never happened to me like this before. Of course you always have rides that are not that good. But I have seldom seen that the horse really didn’t want to. But for my feeling it has already hinted at something. A refusal of the horse to want to continue the course at all indicates that the horse is more unwell than when it refuses to jump.
You led at the Olympics and were on the gold course – was that why this situation was particularly bitter for you?
I would have liked to have taken a replacement horse. But after everything was so harmonious in the warm-up area, I expected that it would turn out differently. The horse’s panic came the moment the cameras were turned on us. Until then everything went according to plan.
Are the conditions in the modern pentathlon unfair, do you think something needs to be changed in the riding regulations?
Surely one has to think about reforms. Especially when you see that a horse – for whatever reason – no longer feels able to continue jumping the course, that there have to be other rules than just looking at the four refusals. The veterinarian could also have assessed the horse’s emotional situation, which of course he did not know. Of course, we would have much preferred a replacement horse for both me and the horse.
Can you understand the criticism of national coach Kim Raisner, who asked you to use the whip?
I can understand that she should perhaps have expressed it differently. What she said, what I would have done on my own terms, to hit the backside with the whip, that is something you can do to convince the horse. I don’t think it was particularly gross either. I have not heard from any of the riders I know that I have violated animal welfare or have tortured the animal. Of course, she may have chosen words that were due to the emotional situation. As a trainer you are also very much involved. Maybe she could have expressed herself differently.
How did you deal with the messages you got afterwards?
It was of course a difficult situation for me. I knew what kind of television pictures are going around the world. We know that we pentathletes are criticized more quickly, even if we act with a clear conscience. Shortly afterwards, I received bad comments and then gave my watch, which is connected to my cell phone, to my trainers so that I wouldn’t have to read it before I ran. I didn’t expect these reactions at all because I really didn’t have the feeling that I was treating the horse too roughly. If you look at the pictures, you can also see that the reins are loose. I didn’t expect something like this to come my way. I then deactivated my Instagram account for the first time. Even so, there are always people who get cell phone numbers that get email addresses. You cannot completely protect yourself from it. It was hard to read all of this, of course.
Have you deactivated your Instagram account for the time being, but not deleted it?
Exactly, the account has not been deleted, but I have now deactivated it for my own protection. Words are sometimes chosen where people are supposedly committed to animal welfare and living beings, but then speak to me or my relatives in a way where I say that is not okay, that goes far too far. I knew that there would be pictures around the world that won’t be beautiful, but I wasn’t expecting some kind of shit storm or so much negative hate.
Miriam Schmidt spoke to Annika Schleu, dpa
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