They jump over barriers that they could easily go around, and they leap off a cliff into water of a depth they don't know. Ironically, the medal is given to the rider for prowess in forcing the horse to do what it instinctually knows is wrong. The prize should really be given to the horse. To my way of thinking, the awards should really go to the horses who refused to jump, carrying their riders to safety by walking around the obstacle. Sadly, those incidents are considered failures, since the rider failed to control the horse, failed to force it to do something it did not want to do.
Accidents abound in the Olympic equestrian events.
One horse dropped dead of unknown causes. Others have fractured and bruised legs. And millions watched as a horse incurred serious injuries after running headlong into an obstacle and falling head over heels, landing on its rider who suffered a fractured pelvis. A similar accident in Santa Rosa, California at equestrian trials in 1998 resulted in the death of the rider. In fact, hundreds of people and horses are killed every year in riding accidents.