Author Name: BoingBoing
       This story was originally published on Boingboing.net. [1]
       License: CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.[2]


Horses spooked by sumo wrestler statue at equestrian Olympic event
Date: 2021-08-05 00:00:00

Many of the horses in the equestrian jumping course at the Olympics in Tokyo make a sharp turn going into the 10th obstacle and stop short of jumping. The popular theory is that the horses get scared by seeing the backside of a decorative yet realistic sumo wrestler statue positioned directly adjacent to the jump. The statue is in an attack position and the first thing horse and rider see are buttocks split by the mawashi a sumo wrestler traditionally wears.

via AP:

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

A few of the pairings stopped short of the barrier, costing them valuable points to make the finals. Not all riders are blaming Mr. Sumo however.


[1] URL: https://boingboing.net/2021/08/05/horses-spooked-by-sumo-wrestler-statue-at-equestrian-olympic-event.html
[2] URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

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