Apologies blog fans, have been enthralled by the olympics and all of the gold medals that Team GB have been winning. Some sour grapes from the Aussies who claim we only win medals in events where you are sitting down (Sailing, rowing & cycling), which although true, is a little harsh.
It's been an amazing event with some amazing performances, week 1 belonged to Michael Phelps, but week 2 has to be Usain Bolt's although Chris Hoy deserves a shout.
Anyway, to the subject of the blog, the Modern Pentathlon, subject of much debate as to how "modern" it actually is. According to wikipedia it was created to simulate the experience of a 19th century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run. Maybe the ultra modern penthathlon should include events such as programming TiVo/Sky+, rescuing personal belongings after your house has been flooded/repossessed, fighting off muggers, driving through rush-hour traffic and running for the bus? Maybe you can think of better ones?
However, it's the comment about unfamiliar horses that led me to blog. Apparently the competitors in the show-jumping section of the pentathlon have a random draw for which horse they get to ride, which leads to all kinds of confusion. The problem is that you get all kinds of penalty points for refusals, knocked down fences and going over your alloted time, all of which add time onto your run in the final event. Today it seemed that someone had spooked all of the horses as all competitors were having a mare so to speak, averaging over 200 penalties each, however the following video shows a poor Hungarian who was given Pingping to ride. I don't know much about horses and show-jumping, but I'm sure it helps if your horse has actually seen a fence before. Check it out.
Pingping stinks For UK Users
Pentathlon horse capers For our American buddies (link removed as no longer active)
