Are acts of cruelty towards an animal hidden behind the images widely disseminated during the 2021 Olympics of Annika Schleu's distress?
The German pentathlete, at the top of the standings before the riding event, had lived through hell on her horse, drawn as the rule dictates.
But maybe not as much as the equine, as suggested by the complaint of a German animal protection association against Schleu and his coach, Kim Raisner.
The two women are accused of "cruelty to animals" and "complicity in cruelty to animals", according to a statement from the German Association for the protection of animals (Deutscher Tierschutzbund).
At the Olympics, Annika Schleu, at the head of the standings before the riding event, had all the trouble in the world to control her horse, giving it many blows.
This then multiplied the refusals of obstacles, leading to the fall in the standings of the German.
Annika Schleu could have been "a little more calm and reasonable"
His coach Kim Raisner was then excluded from the Olympics by the International Federation (UIPM) for having punched the horse.
During the ordeal, she had been heard encouraging Annika Schleu to "hit" the animal.
“Of course, an athlete focused on Olympic gold is under enormous stress at this point, but that is no excuse for animal cruelty,” opined Thomas Schröder, president of the complainant association.
Annika Schleu had explained herself in the columns of the daily
Die Zeit
, assuring that she had not been "extremely hard" with the horse while acknowledging that she could have been "a little more calm and reasonable".
Kim Raisner had for his part affirmed that Annika Schleu had "not tortured the horse, in any way".
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