Horses refuses to jump in another German modern pentathlon drama

German modern pentathlete Annika Zillekens had another Olympics to forget after almost falling in the semi-final on Arezzo de Riverland before the horse then refused to jump an obstacle on Saturday.

The Berlin rider therefore just missed out on reaching Sunday's final.

At the Tokyo Games three years ago, her horse refused to perform and coach Kim Raisner was sent home after footage showed her punching the animal.

Zillekens, then under her maiden name of Schleu, was also criticized in Tokyo for the way she used the whip and treated the horse.

The scandal has led to officials deciding to remove show-jumping from the sport after these Games.

German team-mate Rebecca Langrehr meanwhile fell while riding before competition. She was not badly injured but was prevented from competing on the horse by the judges and a protest failed.

She completed the other four events, but had no chance of making it to the final due to the zero points from the riding section.