Bosses of the modern pentathlon have proposed a radical change to the event in order to maintain its Olympic Games status and to attract a new fan base.
The horse riding element would be removed and replaced by an obstacle event, as proposed by the International Modern Pentathlon Union. The change comes after modern pentathlon was left out of initial programme for Los Angeles 2028. There is a "pathway" for the sport's inclusion pending a revised competition agreed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The event currently consisting of fencing, freestyle swimming, a combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running, and show jumping.
If a revised format is not found the modern pentathlon faces being left out of the Olympic Games for the first time since 1912.
The event came under scrutiny in last summer after German athlete Annika Schleu saw her horse punched by a coach after refusing a jump whilst under pressure at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The coach in question Kim Raisner was sent home following the incident, but the reputation of the sport was already damaged on the world's biggest stage.
Keen to protect the modern pentathlon as an Olympic sport, the UIPM's decided to drop riding in November last year. A move to replace show jumping from the programme has been met by some opposition, with Olympic champion Joe Choong revealing he could quit the sport if horse riding is replaced by cycling - another alternative being considered.
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UIPM communications director Jonathan Coates said that the inclusion of an obstacle discipline could help attract a new audience amid the rising popularity of endurance events Tough Mudder and Spartan along with the television show Ninja Warrior.
"The sport has survived in the Olympics all these years without, I would argue, attracting a fanbase," Coates told Inside The Games at a conference in Glasgow.
"I think there's a community around the sport which has always been loyal, but that's very much a friends and family network, it's people with vested interest, and obviously at the Olympics people watch the athletes from their country and hope that they succeed, but for the other four years we don't have fans in the sport.
"A huge driver of the change is to create a new fanbase and a new era for the sport, and that's why obstacle discipline is such an attractive option and very much a no-brainer if you ask me."
Coates suggested that head-to-head obstacle racing lasting 'maybe 30 seconds' would also help promote the sport on social media and other outlets.
He added: "The proposal has been made to the IOC for a brand-new version of modern pentathlon, which is designed to future-proof the sport but also for the sport to appeal to a massive new demographic around the world, and not only that but bring that demographic to the Olympic Games.
"Nobody thinks that any sport should have a divine right to be in the Olympic Games, it has to add value to the Games itself and to grow audience, so for that reason I do think that the proposal currently being worked upon is really essential."
