Actress Kaley Cuoco Offers to Buy Olympic Horse Hit by German Coach

Actress Kaley Cuoco Offers To Buy Abused Olympic Horse Hit by German Coach

By Emma Taggart on August 16, 2021

American actress and producer Kaley Cuoco is perhaps best known for her roles in The Flight Attendant and The Big Bang Theory. However, when she’s not acting, Cuoco has a second passion: horse riding. She’s been taking part in equestrian competitions since she was 15 years old and has loved the majestic creatures all her life. Not one to let animal cruelty slide, Cuoco recently shared a series of heartfelt Instagram stories condemning the German coach who hit Saint Boy, a horse ridden by Olympian Annika Schleu at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Not only did she call the incident “pure classless behavior,” but she also offered to save the horse. She wrote, “I'll buy that horse outright and show it the life it should have. Name your price.”

Modern pentathletes don’t use their own horses for the Olympic show jumping contest. Instead, they are assigned one at random and are given just 20 minutes to warm up before competing. On August 6, Annika Schleu was paired with Saint Boy, who was showing clear signs of distress from the beginning. Recently revealed footage shows Germany’s modern pentathlon team coach, Kim Raisner, urging Schleu to “really hit it,” after the rider failed to gain control of the horse. As Schleu became more desperate and frustrated, the horse became more anxious and disobedient. The coach is then caught on camera hitting the backside of the horse with her fist. This violent action caused a wave of outrage from animal lovers, and she was later disqualified from the Olympics.

Cuoco shared her feelings about the incident on her Instagram stories. “I feel it's my duty and heart to comment on this disgrace,” she wrote. “This is not Olympic show jumping. This is a disgusting classless, abusive representation of our sport in so many ways.” The actress added, “This team should be ashamed of themselves.” Cuoco then personally addressed Schleu, saying, “You and your team did not do your country proud or this sport. You make us look bad. Shame on you, and Godspeed to any animal that comes in contact with you.”

After claiming that she wanted to buy the horse and give it a better life, the avid equestrian later wrote, “I wasn’t kidding.” Let’s hope she can make it happen!