Show Jumping

Show jumping has been exposed numerous times for animal cruelty and drug scandals. At the 2004 Olympics, Irish show jumper, Cian O’Connor, was stripped of his gold medal and also received a three month ban from competition, for doping his horse with human sedatives.

Then at the 2008 Olympics, another Irish show jumper, Denis Lynch, was barred from competing in the show jumping final because his horse tested positive for a banned substance called ‘capsaicin’. This substance is found in a product called Equiblock (a supposed ‘pain killer’), which he bought over the internet and regularly used on his horse. Capsaicin is derived from chilli powder, and causes a burning sensation that, when rubbed into an animal’s legs, encourages them to jump higher because hitting a pole is so painful.

These are two who were caught – imagine how many more, who are not under the spotlight, get away with doping and abusing horses in the name of this ‘sport’. Not to mention all the horses who have sustained injuries over the years through these events, and the level of abuse witnessed at dressage competitions – a lot of riders use the spurs on every step the horse takes, causing bleeding and bad bruising. The skin gets so callused that it becomes like sandpaper. Other riders fasten the noseband too tightly, which can have an excruciating effect on the horse because it denies him/her the ability to move his/her jaw.