Claim A says A rider sang to his horse and lost Olympic silver. Claim B says A rider was demoted for clicking at his horse in 1932. Claim B is true, and Claim A is completely made up.
The scene is the Los Angeles Olympics, 10 August 1932. Sweden's Bertil Sandström had finished second in the individual dressage, a silver medal secured on a mare named Kreta.
Then the French and the Americans protested. Their complaint: Sandström had been making clicking noises with his tongue to cue his horse, which is a no-no in dressage.
Sandström had a defense, and it was gloriously simple. The sound the judges heard, he said, was a creaking saddle. The protest was upheld anyway, and he plunged from second place to 10th and last.
Here's the twist: his score still counted in the team event, so Sweden kept its team silver medal. He was no newcomer, either, having won individual silver at both the 1920 and 1924 Games.
As for singing: nobody was disqualified for serenading a horse. The actual offense was a tongue click, and the penalty was a drop in the standings rather than any song-related ban.
Would you have believed the saddle excuse? Send this to a friend and see if they can spot the real story.
