Modern pentathlon's governing body has silently voted to remove horse riding from the sport, and will instead be replaced with cycling, The Guardian reports.

Per the publication, the decision was made by the UIPM's (Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne) executive board over the past few days.

This comes after disturbing scenes at the Tokyo Olympics where a German coach, Kim Raisner, was pictured punching a horse after it refused to jump a fence.

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The ensuing images quickly made the rounds on social media, garnering worldwide condemnation of the sport. Per The Guardian, UIPM is understood to have made the recent call to preserve its status as an Olympic sport ahead of the 2024 games in Paris.

UIPM has been a key part of the Olympic Games since 1912 — and it encompasses freestyle swimming, fencing, show jumping, and combined pistol shooting and cross country running.

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In a statement, the sports governing body wrote: "As part of UIPM’s commitment to maintaining a strong, dynamic profile for modern pentathlon, a series of strategic meetings are being held.

"These meetings will include an upcoming call with national federations later this week. The outcome of these meetings will be detailed in a press release to be published on 4 November."

In August, coach Kim Raisner was trying to assist German athlete Annika Schleu as she battled to control her horse, Saint Boy, ahead of her showjumping round in the women's event, per NBC News.

Schleu, who had been leading the field, was emotional when she came into the ring — on account of the animal, which had already proved to be challenging for its previous rider.

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Raisner proceeded to hit the horse with her fist before urging Schleu to "really hit" the animal when it refused to jump.

The coach was disqualified for her actions.

In a statement released by UIPM the following day, the body stated:

"The UIPM Executive Board (EB) has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

"The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women's modern pentathlon competition.

"Her actions were deemed to be in violation of the UIPM competition rules, which are applied to all recognized modern pentathlon competitions including the Olympic Games.

"The EB decision was made today at the Tokyo Stadium before the resumption of the men's modern pentathlon competition," the statement added."

Featured image credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy

Horse riding to be removed from modern pentathlon after Olympic horse punching ordeal