KAMIYOGA, JAPAN — 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.
Riders say that a life-sized 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.