This was done in 2016. This is my aunt I guess at one of her practice events. Have any of you did jumps like this?
Yes in cross country at One Day Events.
There is nothing unusual about any of those obstacles on a lower level course.
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FYI, I believe Brad posted this as a memorial to his aunt, who was killed in a riding accident. Please be mindful in your responses that the OP is grieving.
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What a wonderful person, what a sad loss. Brad, my heart breaks for this loss of your amazing Aunt Melanie.
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I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was a wonderful person and is missed by many.
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So those obstacles would have less likely caused her fall right since they are so low to the ground? What type of obstacles could have? Just wanting to learn more about this sport.
Brad, the highest incidence of serious injury and death is at the upper levels of Eventing. At the Intermediate and Advanced levels, the cross country jumps are huge and are jumped at a high rate of speed. At the lower levels, serious injuries and death are uncommon. In the video, your aunt looks to me like an experienced and capable rider who is slowly and safely jumping a low level, low risk, course.
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I thought I’d say hello, Brad, and tell you that I enjoyed hearing from/reading posts from your Aunt Melanie on this forum. I miss her, too, and not nearly as much as I’m sure you do.
I do have a friend who had a TBI from a horse accident. He was a very capable cowboy. His horse tripped, when her front legs unexpectedly fell into a partially concealed rodent hole. The horse was not going fast, only at at trot, but she flipped over and landed on top of my friend. He was rushed to the hospital, and was in a coma for at least two weeks. He did survive, and he does know his family and most of his friends, but has almost no memory at all for anything almost three years prior to the accident.
Anyway, I’m sorry you lost your dear Aunt Melanie.
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Brad I am so sorry for your loss. Coming up to the one-year anniversary, I know this will be a very difficult time for your family.
I understand that you and possibly other members of your family may still be grappling with how this could have happened to your aunt, who was a good rider. AKB gave you some good general statistics above.
This forum can certainly help you with general information about eventing. However, if you are searching for a more complete explanation of the accident than you may have had until now, unfortunately there is no way for us to give that. We might not have the expertise to analyze it even if we knew more details. Some of the guessing might actually do you more harm than good, if they are bad guesses. I hope that makes sense. But general information, that we can do. 
When a fatal accident happens it is natural to want to know exactly, precisely, what happened, and how it went wrong. I know this was true for my family when my 20-year-old nephew and his best friend of the same age both lost their lives when their motorcycles collided. How could that have happened? We eventually got a lot of details and insight that explained the accident, and also many of the events of that day that led up to it. My nephew and his friend did not intentionally do anything that would have made that happen, rather there was impaired visibility, and they didn’t see each other in time to avoid the collision. There were other random details that explained how it all came together at that one instant. Understanding what happened meant a lot to us, even though it didn’t change anything.
If you are interested in general statistics and data, and the rules of the sport and other things like that, this forum has lots of people who can provide that. And perhaps you could get some general accident statistics from the USEA (not sure what they actually have, though).
I guess the simplest answer is that it is extremely rare that jumps like those in the video would be part of a fatal accident. There are no statistics that indicate that those jumps are particularly hazardous. But in one given incident, anything can happen. A lot of things might go wrong in that moment that just comes out in the worst possible way. That’s not much of an explanation, but that’s probably the best this forum can do.
Again my heart goes out to you and to your family. Praying for peace and healing for all of you.
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Thank you for letting the rest of us know. I had no idea. I am very sorry to hear of
bradt99’s loss.
A kinder wording of your own post would have been appreciated.
Our Kcmel died last fall. I don’t understand why you are scolding McGurk for not being “kinder”. Brad is still struggling. https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/f…mel-she-passed
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Your aunt looks like a capable rider on a horse that’s newish to eventing. She’s giving him a tactful and correct ride at an appropriate speed for the height of the fences and his level of training. This looks like Beginner Novice level which is the first recognized level of the sport. Accidents can and do happen at every level, for a variety of reasons. Nothing about this video tells me that your aunt is the type to not take the risk of eventing seriously, and she seemed to me like a person who rode well, with a lot of thought, on an appropriate horse, that she worked hard to train well. I would not be concerned that she would take unnecessary risks over bigger fences, and would move up when she was totally ready.
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I have nothing but sympathy and wishes for healing for @bradt99 who is still trying to make sense of the death of his aunt. I was trying to alert other posters to his situation and prevent a full COTH critique dog pile, which I thought would be very hurtful. I was also trying to be tactful, kind and brief. I am not sure how I could have done that differently or better, but I am open to advice.
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Brad, everything Enjoytheride said is true.
Since you aren’t an eventer, let me tell you why we see an accomplished rider when we watch this video.
At the very start of the video, it looks like the horse might have tried to speed up or lose balance starting down the slope. Your aunt checked him ( he put his head up, many green horses will do this) but then settled into a balanced center.
Your aunt has a strong, safe position on this horse. Her heels are down and her lower legs are slightly in front of her body, which would keep her stable if the horse lost it’s balance a bit or stumbled (inexperienced horses are more likely to do this). Her upper body is strong a and quiet, in balance with the horse. Her hands are following the horse’s head and neck motion, keeping a steady contact to help him balance himself. She has a neck strap, which riders use to grab onto if they lose their own balance (if the horse stumbles or jumps awkwardly.)
Approaching the water, your aunt slows the horse to a trot, giving him plenty of time to see and enter the water safely. After the water they pick up the canter again and your aunt rides accurately to the next fences, making wide turns that give the horse plenty of time to see and understand each question.
Brad, this video is something you should be proud to watch. Your aunt was a skillful rider showing an inexperienced horse how to do the sport she loved. It’s an honor to watch it in her memory.
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@McGurk In my humble opinion, there is absolutely no reason for you to reconsider anything that you have posted. You certainly have no reason to apologize to anyone.
You said what needed to be said, to inform people who do not understand the situation, and you wrote in a kind and sympathetic manner.
Those of us who knew her only as kcmel from the COTH forums miss her very much. The loss to her family and for her friends is unimaginable.
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Hey Brad-- I rode against your aunt at shows a lot, including at this one I think, because we had green horses at the same time. She was a lovely, kind person who clearly adored this horse and believed in him absolutely. She was very dedicated, had good quality equipment, made responsible choices, worked with great trainers, did everything right.
Sometimes even when you do things right accidents happen. This sport could definitely be safer. There are things that need to happen from the top down, and things each of us need to do on our own. But I don’t think those changes would have helped in this situation.
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I’m glad this was picked up on, I was going to reply last night, but am still kind of angry this morning.
Your post was short, factual, and in no way mean…I’m wondering how much sugar coating was needed here.? My answer ZERO, it was information post for all, not a slap down on anyone…
Walks off mumbling about snowflakes, in no particular direction
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This. Brad I am sorry you’re still feeling so raw about losing your Aunt. People before have suggested that you talk to a professional and I’ll suggest it again.
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Many people here know this story, and I saw this rider come of age when grooming, but Courtney King Dye suffered a major injury from a horse tripping at the walk. Granted she wasn’t wearing a helmet, but things happen with horses. We all have our stories of catastrophic injuries and we are blessed everyday we can swing a leg over a horse. I know you are trying to understand the causes, this video you posted shows a very sympathetic, confidant, and smart rider. We all knew your aunt fit that description. The problem is, we don’t know why we fall and get back up. We don’t know why others fall and don’t. Statistics don’t guarantee anything.
I think it’s wonderful you are analyzing all this because maybe the outside voice, your voice, will make a difference.
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