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Tryon Under FEI Investigation Following Rolex Kentucky
Chronicle of the Horse online ^ | 4-30-07 | staff

Posted on 05/01/2007 7:28:28 AM PDT by Help!

See video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqUPoQj5hV8

Tryon Under FEI Investigation Following Rolex Kentucky Le Samurai’s injury before the last fence at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event left spectators at the event and around the globe, who were watching on the Internet, shocked and upset. He jumped the last fence almost on three legs, and Amy Tryon, who had been in the lead after dressage, dismounted immediately upon crossing the finish line.

Members of the ground jury met later on April 28 to investigate the incident for alleged abuse. They reviewed written statements from the fence judges, watched the videotape and interviewed FEI Veterinary Delegate Dr. Catherine Kohn. They could not reach Tryon, because she had left the show grounds to be with Le Samurai.

Ground jury officials then referred the matter to the FEI Appeal Committee because the matter falls under their duties, according to article 164.4.5 of the FEI General Regulations, “In serious cases, immediate disqualification with one or more horses from a competition or from the whole event with referral to the Secretary General (for referral to the Judicial Committee.)”

Tryon was disqualified from the competition. She released a statement on April 29: “Le Samurai is resting comfortably at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute [Ky.] and has the best care that could be provided anywhere in the world. I wish to express that I am totally devastated about the injury he sustained yesterday but cannot comment further pending a review by the FEI. I’d give anything if this had not happened. I love this horse. Le Samurai is very special to me, and we share a deep bond that is beyond competition. Although we will no longer be competing together, we will always be partners. I thank everyone who has generously assisted with Le Samurai’s care and been so supportive.”

The FEI Judicial Committee (Ken Lalo of Israel, Erik Elstad of Norway, Jens Adolphsen of Germany, Patrick Boelens of Belgium, Leonidas C. Georgopoulos of Greece, Helen Huggett of Great Britain and Philip O'Connor of Ireland) may take any action, ranging from a warning, to a fine, to a suspension for any period of time or for life, if she is found to have violated the rules.


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: abuse; crosscountry; eventing; horse; utube
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To: All

It’s being reported that the horse was put down....

Yeah, it was nothing serious, just a twisted shoe.

< /sacasm >

Becky


81 posted on 05/07/2007 10:08:22 AM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: HairOfTheDog

How terribly sad. Thanks for letting us know, Hair.


82 posted on 05/07/2007 3:40:24 PM PDT by Fairview ( Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.)
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To: Fairview

I think it’s interesting how so many people talking about this incident talk about “locking on” to a fence like there is no turning back. Yes, a horse that knows how to jump in advancecd competition “locks on” (as they should) a few strides before a fence of that magnitude, but you most certainly can pull them up when you are still a few strides away - all you have to do is turn! I’ve also heard from many that were there between fences 33 and 34, that he broke to the trot at one point... and many were yelling at her to pull up. I realize that sometimes you just don’t hear anyone when your that focused (I know I don’t) but I would have considered checking a step or 2 more of trot prior to jumping him back into the canter if he felt funny to me... a twisted shoe can result in a blown tendon or ligament... which although may be mild can result in catastrophe if you go and jump a 5 foot fence, so why not check (and I’m not saying stop completely and get off). I certainly know that stuff happens regardless of what you do too. It’s a risk we all take doing what we love. I don’t think she had any intention of hurting her horse as certainly none of us would, but maybe it’s time we all take more responsibility for those animals that so gladly give their hearts, souls and lives for us. It’s our job to make sure they are ok to compete and continue.


83 posted on 05/08/2007 9:51:32 AM PDT by horsedoc08
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To: horsedoc08

Very good post somebody with some sense:)

Becky


84 posted on 05/08/2007 10:00:45 AM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: horsedoc08

Thank you for being reasonable. I have had the experience many times of having a highly competitive horse lock onto a fence, or some other purpose (like staying with the field he’s racing with), and sometimes it’s necessary to practically wrestle them to a stop. It’s hard to do. A sudden, fast stop can do even more damage.

Sometimes it’s very difficult to figure out what’s going on beneath you when you’re riding at high speed on changing, uneven ground, and those who haven’t ridden that course, or Morven Park, or Fair Hill (as I have), might not realize how uneven the ground can be, so the horse doesn’t necessarily feel regular and rhythmic.

Just last night I was helping my daughter, who competes at a high level, with an OTTB I recently bought. Cantering on uneven ground she wasn’t sure that the mare was going sound or not. I saw that the mare was off and told her, but despite her experience and skill she didn’t feel it clearly.

Did Tryon make a bad decision? Surely. Was it understandable? Forgivable, even? Maybe. My entire point is that the lynch mob might just consider holding onto their torches and rope for awhile until a formal investigation is concluded. The investigation might well determine that what she did was horrendous, but until then, we might presume innocence until she is proven guilty, in accordance with our nation’s traditions.


85 posted on 05/08/2007 10:25:10 AM PDT by Fairview ( Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.)
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To: Fairview
lock onto a fence, or some other purpose (like staying with the field he’s racing with), and sometimes it’s necessary to practically wrestle them to a stop. It’s hard to do.

Then the horse isn't trained well, and should not be at that level of competition. And yes it can be hard to do, but you do it.

Have you ever watched a well trained barrel horse. They can be stopped in just a very short space, even when the gate is open and the horse wants nothing more then to get out of the arena.

And that brings us back to the point, this woman did not even try to make an easy stop when the horse was so obviously lame, and she had the time to do it in. Also the horse was trying to slow down on his own, they were not going at a full out speed. But she got him stopped once she was done.

It can be difficult to figure out what's going on, that is why I said she should have stopped and checked.

And as far as waiting on others before I form my own opinion, I don't let others think for me when there is more then enough evidence to make an informed opinion. And I'm not a mob with torches and ropes...what ever they decide to do with her is fine by me. I can still have an opinion on what I think should be done.

Becky

86 posted on 05/08/2007 11:06:14 AM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: HairOfTheDog

This is another post to Chron of the Horse from a former upper level event rider:

“I am not a regular poster on this forum, although I visit it on occasion. I have been quite amazed (and dismayed) at some of the comments I have seen posted on this thread. As an upper level event rider for nearly a decade (now retired), I have competed widely around the country, including Rolex. And in all those years, I have never observed anything as heartbreaking and indefensible as Amy Tryon’s continuing to GALLOP and JUMP
a horse in such obvious distress.
You can be absolutely sure that she knew she was riding a very, very lame horse. You don’t make it to that level without being able to feel the most subtle of gait irregularities. And my goodness, LS was virtually 3-legged lame at the canter! And generally, 3 legged lame at the canter is hardly ever just a shoe or a grab. (In fact, in all my 20+ years in competition with dozens of thrown shoes, I have never even known a shoe was gone until I dismounted at the finish. Any lameness as a result always showed up later in the day, probably after the adrenalin wore off. No doubt someone will write in to say that a thrown or wrenched shoe once caused the exact same symptoms in their horse as LS’s, but I just have never seen it. I have, however, seen horses break legs and rupture tendons who suddenly went lame just like LS did.) In any case, I cannot imagine that Amy was unaware that the horse underneath her could have suffered a catastrophic injury of some sort, as opposed to just a grab or a shoe or something minor. It seems to me that she was playing the odds, very long ones, that he just might be OK. And surely, can anyone seriously maintain that to continue galloping and jumping on that leg would have had no affect on the severity of the injury? And, to those of you who are thinking that way, are you saying it was OK to gallop on because it was a fatal injury anyway????
As for Amy’s behaviour at the finish line, I have a different take on why she acted as she did. There are always officials at the finish line, and she stood to be eliminated and sanctioned for riding in a lame horse, and so she could hardly advertise that that is exactly what she just did. And, of course, it is well ingrained into every rider not to draw undue attention to any possible lameness issue. Otherwise the vets may give your horse extra scrutiny at the jog on Sunday. (Perhaps she was still in “diehard eventer” mode hoping she could somehow ice and laser LS through the problem and actually present him for the jog. Who knows?) The point is that she committed herself to a plan when she did not pull him up, and so I suspect she played it all the way out including at the finish line.
Another point: LS did not look fit enough for this competition. I would have considered pulling that horse up even before he broke down. And once I felt him stumble and take the one or two bad steps, I would have been off. I am sure that horse would have been no problem to stop. He was trying to stop for goodness sake.
I do not know Amy personally, and, no doubt, she has many excellent qualities. But the bottom line is that she did NOT make a bad MISTAKE. She made a bad DECISION. And it probably cost LS his life. And I think that unless significant consequences are forthcoming, we are sending out the wrong message that it’s OK to ride irresponsibly as long as you don’t mean to hurt the horse, or that it’s OK because you are a nice person who loves horses and works hard, etc., etc....
When you compete at this level and on horses with this much heart, you have the moral responsibility to go the extra mile to ALWAYS insure the safety and wellbeing of the horse. What I observed was sickening. And so unnecessary.
If Amy does not deserve our condemnation, then who does? What would a rider have to do to merit a suspension? I am having trouble imagining anything much worse. I ask you, what if the horse she was riding was your horse? Would it not tear your heart out to watch that video then? Would you still defend her? I can assure you she knew she had a very lame horse under her, she was well able to pull him up, and she did not.
Personally, I think that if she is allowed to compete in Hong Kong at the
test event and at the Luhmuhlen ****, then the FEI and the USEF have failed in their responsibility to protect the welfare of our competition horses.
To paraphrase an old saying, the only way that evil can triumph is if good people do nothing. While I do not suppose Amy is “evil”, what she did was horrific. And I think we, as horseman, owe more to our horses than we do to Amy. Amy needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for her decisions (and as one poster pointed out, she was making multiple bad decisions - one for each additional lame stride he took after his initial breakdown.)
Finally, I am sure I will be beaten up over this post. So be it. However, since some of you expressed an interest in an upper level rider’s opinion, here it is. However, even my little novice student would have hopped off that horse. I do not think you need to have ridden at Rolex to assess what happened on that course. In fact, the lower level riders can help provide some much needed perspective to the “win at any cost” mentality of some of our elite riders.”


87 posted on 05/09/2007 8:34:49 AM PDT by Help!
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To: Help!

Another with some sense of accountability.

Becky


88 posted on 05/11/2007 5:03:28 AM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain

I was wondering if anyone had any info on the injury of le samurai. I didn’t understand that they had put him down so “fast” and Barbaro, whose injury was absolutely horrific, they worked with for MONTHS before putting him down. Would love to see xrays of some injury equivalent to Le Samurai’s and why the decision was made to put him down. Does anyone have any info?

Sparky’s injury and death is very sad, as was Barbaro, and would love to know what kind of treatments or not there are out there for this kind of injury, versus Barbaro’s injury that included shattered bones, was worked with for so long, before other injuries led to his death.
THANKS


89 posted on 05/11/2007 1:52:38 PM PDT by RyeGoBragh
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To: Help!

But...why aren’t there more Black riders in dressage?


90 posted on 05/11/2007 1:56:21 PM PDT by CholeraJoe (Tagline removed due to death threats)
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To: Help!

There was a report by an acquaintance of Ms. Tryon’s of an old bow on one of Le Samurai’s front legs. This begs the question of suitability for the sport.
There is no question that horse was one talented jumper and amazing athlete.
As eventing has come under international pressure to give more thought to the safety of horse and rider, have we learned anything of lasting value?
Is horsemanship our priority?
If so, have economics or a sense of ‘national pride’ overshadowed our good intentions?
As a competitive rider, those questions trouble me at major events everywhere.


91 posted on 05/11/2007 6:33:32 PM PDT by Upward
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To: RyeGoBragh

“Loss of supporting ligaments” some assume meant “complete rupture of the suspensory ligaments, the superficial flexor tendon, and the deep flexor”. Adams “Lameness in Horses” describes a complete rupture of the suspensory alone as a particularly catastrophic injury, with a really difficult recovery, not recommended unless the animal has a great value as a breeding animal, or great sentimental value. Complications include a disruption of blood flow to the injured foot, and laminitis in the supporting limb. It is definately not a soft tissue injury that is easily repaired.

Some soft tissue injuries can be more catastrophic than broken limbs. There’s a big, big difference between having a catastophic injury to a front leg vs. a hind leg. Dean Richardson (Barbaro’s vet) said that many times. The front legs are the major weight bearers, thus the increased risk of laminitis on the opposite limb. Which is also what was happening with Sparky. Bone has incredible ability to heal, and heal even stronger than the original bone (as evidenced by Barbaro - we all know it wasn’t the break that was causing the problem). Catastrophic soft tissue injuries do not have nearly as good an outcome. It’s like a rubber band snapping apart. How do you put the ends back together? Especially when the ends will be under constant tension?

Barbaro was offered a 50/50 chance, the mega-wealthy Jacksons were willing to take that chance. The owners of “Sparky” may not have been given those good of odds - who knows it was between them and their vet. Le Samuri’s owners may not have had the finances to have the horse hospitalized for months and have multiple surgical procedures. They apparently opted for what they felt was best for the horse.

Also with Tryon under FEI investigation they may not want to release more details until that is concluded.

Old cold bows do not usually bother horses no longer involved in racing. Horses often jump on them for years with no ill effect.


92 posted on 05/15/2007 12:28:08 PM PDT by Help!
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To: HairOfTheDog

Just a little update from the FEI Web site:

Information of the case of alleged abuse at CCI 4* Lexingtron (USA)

The FEI has now received the official reports and video footage regarding the case of alleged abuse involving rider Amy Tryon (USA) and horse Le Samurai which occurred on 28 April 2007 at CCI 4* Lexington. The FEI has notified Ms Tryon through the USEF of her right to be heard before a panel of the FEI Tribunal, which has been constituted to address the matter after it was referred to the Tribunal by the FEI Secretary General further to the applicable rules. Ms Tryon’s response and that of the Tribunal panel will determine whether and when a hearing will be scheduled.


93 posted on 05/15/2007 12:42:38 PM PDT by Help!
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain

Becky, you have never been in a situation even remotely like this one so you have no idea what would go through your head in that split second of decision making. Amy Tryon is an excellent horsewoman by all standards, and what we should be feeling is compassion for both the horse and for her. Knowing ly pushing an injured horse to finish cross country has no benefit for her - if she knew he was seriously hurt, there’s no way that he would have been able to showjump anyway. She’s living through many event riders’ worst nightmares.


94 posted on 07/03/2007 7:56:45 PM PDT by notawhisperer
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To: notawhisperer

What brought this up after 2 months????

Becky


95 posted on 07/04/2007 6:25:31 AM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
I have been aware of the controversy surrounding Amy since this incident.

I live in Washington. I know Amy well, personally and as a trainer. My daughter was a student of Amy's in 2003/2004/2005. She had two horses in training with her. It was whilst she lived with Amy that she came to the conclusion she could never pull-off what was required to become an Olympic level rider, even though she was competing at Intermediate level very successfully with a TB she had off the track when he was 4. The reason that she decided this was not for her was what she believed at the time was suspect: her original belief that Amy was a consummate horsewoman (as we were) and then her perception of Amy and her desire for success were tremdously at odds. At the end of the day she came to conclusion her her young inexperienced mind, that is if this is what it takes to success, I donlt ant it. This in itself was a simple philosophy, especially in the mind of such an incredibly lucky, kind and deeply committed young person. Amy cpntradcigted everyting she believed in. Amy is undoubtedly a single minded, focused and deeply competitive young woman. Her lack of family money and tremendous work ethic have led her into a rather ugly situation. Tat is becoming an internally recognized rider who has pulled it off by sheer dint of hardwork and "going wihtout. a perfecionist who cannot forgive less than perfection in anyone else.

My daughter and I love horse and love to ride. We are three day eventers to the core. Neither of us have the deeply committed - and as it turns out often eroding - desire to win no matter what. Amy possesses these traits in abundance. Some see her as hardworking, focused and dedicated - a consummate horsewoman who would rather feed her horses than go the celebration on the evening after cross country. Amy is a socially solitary, uncomfortable woman, with no social skills and a horrendous chip on her shoulder. She also loves animals. But she doesn't love herself. In my opinion the worst riders out there are often those who are incapable of feeling ood unless they sitting on tip of an obedient animal. Unfortunately the horse world abounds with people who are unfinished and inadequate and seek animals to fill the gap.

Amy has ruined many relationships with people in Area VII. She is not entirely truthful, not entirely trustworthy and not entirely what she appears ever to be. She is smart, manipulative and creative.

I do believe that she knew that Sparky was off before the last fence, she is way too in tune not to be. Ther eis a huge difference in sensing a horse is stung or has cast a show, and the difference between as serious a lamness as this particular instance certainly was. Maybe Amy used to TBs misunderstood this particular horse.. It doesnt matter, at the level she was competing at, you have to exercise the recognition when your horse tells you enough. If you can't do that then 3Day is screwed. The entire sport is about asking anorse for the obedience an d submittal of dressage, the heart, courage and trust in partnership to run x-c and then the stamina and fitness to pull of a show jumping round. Enough said. He showed the turst and heroicm and she let him down

Sparky is an amazing horse: he is brave intelligent and athletic. I watched him come up through the levels with Yves Sauvignon and when he was purchased by his current owner for Amy to ride, it was only after Amy proved herself over and over again with Poggi that this kind of horse was given her as the next possible Olympic Horse for 2008.

For someone like Amy given the opportunity to ride a horse like Sparky is itself a rather warping issue. Its like working hard all your life to achieve something and then be given the last bit as a slam dunk. Amy is a deeply flawed individual. Sparky as a horse was not ... he was true blue absolute consummate athlete and had a huge heart, dedicated as someone said to pleasing and accomplishing what his rider asked of him.

Only problem is, Amy never really asks. She is not a tactful rider. She does not brook talk back or equivocation. In her own words she does not enjoy sensitive hot thorughbred horses; horses with too much intelligence. Poggi has about as much sensitivity as a private in the artillery. Woody is a pig. Beau runs thru anyone with a sensitive hand and touch - these are the horses Amy came up with. Sparky was a different read and he had to conform for Amy.

I feel that Amy lost touch out there with what this is all about. Her consummate ambition, her determination to win no matter what, her absolute conviction that the sport is about her, rather than a partnership all came to bear in the moment Sparky needed her to exercise forbearance for his physical abilities (he is not a TB by the way), judgment for the situation that caused his terrible lameness, and humility for what we ask of our horses when we compete at this level. At that moment when Sparky needed Amy’s most profound feeling as a true horsewoman, Amy forsook him. Her character is not great enough for this sport at this level. Her skill is undoubted, her focus is remarkable, her ability to groom people to support her is exceptional. But her heart at the end of the day is truly suspect.

It is for this reason that i believe Amy should not be allowed to compete at this level. There are too many young people who watch and hope to learn...Would we teach them that at the end of the day the life of a horse is secondary to the desires of a rider and the momentary fleeting recognition that they are the best there is?

Who remembers who won what 6 months after? The sacrifice of one brave, loyal horse is a horrendous price to pay for fame and recognition. Amy did that - she threw away the soul of what makes a horse succeed in a sport like 3Day. She made it about herself — not about the partnership.

96 posted on 07/13/2007 2:36:14 PM PDT by 3dayhorse
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To: HairOfTheDog

I just posted a thread on the FEI decision in the case of Amy Tryon and the injury to her horse Le Samurai.


97 posted on 07/23/2007 12:01:59 PM PDT by Help!
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