Originally Posted by Lord Helpus on the Chronical site:
I am not going to comment on Amy Tryon. She does not deserve my thoughts. It is the job of the FEI to deal with her.
Le Samurai however has gained my highest respect. He is the epitome of courage and trust that our equine partners have. The elite athletes at the **** or World Cup level must have total faith that their riders will not ask them to do anything that they are not capable of doing.
These horses will gallop until they drop, jump until they break, all to please the human on their back. A less generous and brave horse will set its own limits, but not an elite equine athlete. Yes, they must love their job. But, without a rider, a horse will not jump the Rolex fences. He does it because he is asked to, not because it is a natural instinct.
However, TB’s are bred to race and Barbaro would have kept racing, but for Prado’s superhuman efforts to pull him up, beginning THE VERY STRIDE after his leg broke. (For those who say that a rider cannot tell immediately, watch the video of the Preakness in slow motion. Edgar Prado was going for the second leg of the Triple Crown on the favorite and yet he reacted on the very next stride to get Barbaro stopped.)
Riders of these special horses owe them a higher level of care, since the horses will not stop on their own, if their riders continue to ask them to gallop or jump.
Le Samurai is a hero. I get goosebumps just thinking about his bravery jumping that last jump, three legged, in pain, and exhausted. Just because his rider asked him to.
For all these horses do for us, we owe them more than second class consideration. Their welfare should come before EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING. One more jump, one more stride, one more step.
AT was doing more than riding Le Samurai; she was representing a sport which has a dicey reputation in the eyes of animal rights activists, anyway. And she is/was a role model of thousands of children who aspire to ride like her, but who now question the morals and goals of those at the top levels. She probably also has sponsors who are now in an awkward position.
Riders at the top are not just going for a gallop in the park, they have many levels of responsibilities. She hurt more than a noble horse. She has a lot to answer for.
But, first she has to answer to her horse. He will probably be the first to forgive her because that is his nature.
Good post by Lord Helpus.