Posted on 04/09/2008 3:23:54 AM PDT by Help!
A failed jump by one of the world’s finest riders and a spate of deaths have unnerved the equestrian community....Top competitors and coaches argue that the sport’s growing popularity has attracted inexperienced riders who take too many risks, and amateur riders complain that courses are being designed beyond their skill level in order to challenge elite riders. There is also frustration that the governing bodies for eventing have not mandated the safety improvements they identified after another cluster of deaths nine years ago.
A target of criticism is the former husband of England’s Princess Anne, Mark Phillips, who is coach of the United States Olympic eventing team and designs many competition courses, including the one at the Red Hills Horse Trials, where Mr. Chiacchia’s fall occurred.
The riders who died ranged in age from 17 to 51. Some, like Sherelle Duke, 28, of Ireland, were considered to be top riders. Others, like 17-year-old Mia Eriksson of Tahoe City, Calif., were just starting out. Three riders died during competitions in the United States....... more
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
General rule is “ the horse is entitled to the first bite” and most riders are OK with that. To hide the past activity leads to accidents and law suits. “like ours"/p>
General rule is “ the horse is entitled to the first bite” and most riders are OK with that. To hide the past activity leads to accidents and law suits. “like ours"/p>
Yep, my son is still doing this at 43! I hope he gives it up and just enjoys his horse. I know how dangerous this sport is. And what the article says is true.
How many people die in skiing accidents; sky diving; swimming; boating; jet skiing; diving; hang gliding; etc.,etc. If you are truly involved in a sport at a high level you should understand the risks and be responsible for your own safety.
I did my stint as a whip for a fox hunt. Crashed a few jumps in my day and a lot of close calls, but the worst injury was just a sprained AC joint after landing, when the horse did not clear the jump, and I went flying through the air.
The deadly accidents are when the horse falls on you.I knew of only one, and it was in a horse show. The girl was from another state.
I've had both shoulders dislocated, one reconstructed, a broken femur with ruptured quads, and a fractured skull with a six week hospital stay and the endless misery of dilantin in your veins every two hours.
Horses are for those with a real desire to bond with your orthopedic surgeon.
All of the points they make are true - although basically, you could probably say the same thing about skiing, diving or any one of a number of hazardous sports. However, eventing probably could be made safer with some tweaks to the courses.
Riding is simply dangerous, although I would imagine that in its day, it was about as relatively dangerous as driving a car on the basis of the number of accidents per capita. Still, with horses you have the freak-out factor, which can happen to any horse, no matter how old or otherwise calm, or simply the fluke factor. I rode at a barn where one rider was killed when lightning struck the horse next to her on a trail ride and the horse fell on her horse and crushed the rider (the rider of the horse that got struck was not injured); and there was another rider elsewhere who was killed when the horses were lined up for the judges in the ring and her horse had a heart attack and fell on her when it dropped dead.
Even so, horses are wonderful and normally nothing bad happens to you when you’re riding!
Not a day goes by that I don’t do something to a horse that the horse really doesn’t like. Its like anything else in life, be careful and know the pitfalls. I still think its more dangerous driving down the road with a plethora of drunk drivers than it is in an enclosed arena with a horse.
Eventing is a risky sport like many others. The danger of life-threatening injury is primarily in rotational falls like Darren’s or Ralph Hill’s, when the 1300+ lb beast you are riding falls on you. Every event rider at the upper levels in particular is very keenly aware of the risks, and also very committed to staying as safe as possible.
Every event rider has the ability to ask the rider representative to get corrective action on perceived dangerous situations on the X-C course from the course designer and builder. At Red Hills, where Darren had his fall, not a single rider had any complaint about the course before it was ridden. Not even Darren. The most important thing is that all the top names in the sport are in the process of figuring out the appropriate action to take to make all courses safer.
The bigger danger IMO is the busybodies outside the sport who do not know it, understand it and who will do it great harm just because they think no one should ever take a risk.
For more info and discussion by actual participants in the sport:
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?s=3ebbb3a54d75a699e209fc2b35020cc5&t=138825
Although I rode alone quite a bit, especially on trails to meet up with my friends somewhere else, I will not let my daughters ride alone. And without my hard hat I'd be dead today. Anyone who rides without one is a fool.
Hence my screen name.
Too many big name trainers schooling (dressage portions of the three-day, or just plain ol’ dressage) with hunt caps instead of approved helmets. It’s easy enough to die when you do have a helmet on; it’s amazing that these folks would take the additional risk of riding without one. And they are a terrible example to the children who emulate them.
Yes, the helmets are big, hot, and basically kind of ugly. Yes, hunt caps look cuter. But nobody looks cute in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic because he was too foolish to wear a helmet. Look at poor Ricardo Amaya, dead doing dressage just a few weeks ago—no jumping, no galloping, just schooling on the flat, and now dead at 43 in part because he didn’t wear an approved helmet.
One of my good friends, a top notch orthopedic surgeon in Memphis, was a polo player on weekends as well as a Pitts stunt pilot. We sometimes flew together.
He died of pancreatic cancer.
I miss my fox hunting (Longreen Hounds) and flying days, but it is all now “Gone With the Wind”
Good point! I was at the Kentucky horse trials years ago. The first rider flipped over the first jump and was instantly killed. The observers around me were more into commenting about the girl not approaching the Jump the wrong way than concern for her. I think that is when I lost my real interest in the sport.
Good point! I was at the Kentucky horse trials years ago. The first rider flipped over the first jump and was instantly killed. The observers around me were more into commenting about the girl not approaching the Jump the wrong way than concern for her. I think that is when I lost my real interest in the sport.
You can say that again! I've evented my entire life, and while I do think the courses have evolved in a dangerous direction to some degree (just watch one of the old Badminton videos from the 70s), eventing requires that you take calculated risks despite potential dangers. If you want a guarantee against injury or death, then don't event! And don't ride at all -- or drive, for that matter!
In my view a lot of very lower-level amateurs who do not understand the true nature (or history) of the sport are the most vocal in doing damage to it. The slights against Capt. Mark Phillips, in particular, are just embarrassing.
If you're not willing to accept the risk, do all you can to be safe - including riding a suitable mount, waiting to move up, and doing the training necessary to be able to compete - then PLEASE go back to the hunter circuit!
Motorcycles can give equally great bonding opportunities. I speak from personal experience as a member of the Broken Angels (an in skin and bones) Motorcycle Club.
Thanks for the great post, Help!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.