The other rider mentioned in the article hasn’t returned to eventing since her fall. Emily Gilruth. She fell at the the 3rd, a big table. I saw a photo at the time, the horse had taken off at an impossibly long distance, and at speed. The article also mentions Shanghai Joe’s accident, but not that he was PTS due to the injuries soon after.
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That article is :eek:.
You’ve got a horrow-show sequence of Paul Tapner (a great rider) and his (very accomplished) horse. Then you’ve got passing mentions of a rider in intensive care with a severe head injury and an injured horse that was put down.
Oh and that’s just a normal day on XC at Badminton.
WTF are we doing if this is our normal?
The Grand National used to be like this in terms of horse fatalities. The huge crown watching always knew that several of the horses lining up for the race would be dead at the end or shortly thereafter.
Because of the safety changes, that doesn’t happen anymore. Fatalities have been rare since the safety changes - specifically the new fence construction.
Eventing should learn from that.
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JER, that’s an interesting thought. Should our “let up” galloping fences be National fences? Or chase fences? Those are meant to be taken at extreme speed, and fairly forgiving. I know some events have one or two “half moon rolltops with fake brush,” but you rarely see a true steeplechase fence anymore. Perhaps courses should have 4 or 5 of those, replacing 4 or 5 (of 10 total) tables.
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Ingmar De Vos has been the President of the FEI since 2014. It’s been six years since Haya was President of the FEI.
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Also the year when another rider mentioned on this thread was yellow carded for pushing an exhausted horse to the point it fell.
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More info on National fences and safety:
The Grand National: A Review of Safety and Welfare
Grand National Goes Plastic in Safety Quest
New Safety Measures for Grand National 2019 - this includes mandatory official course walks for less experienced riders.
Video on the safer plastic fences
I don’t know why we’re asking horses to jump any fence that could cause them harm when we have the technology to mitigate that outcome.
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I always thought the Grand National was such a horrible race with way too many horse deaths. I am glad to see they are trying to do something to make it safer but why did we need races like this in the first place?
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Thank you for that. You shouldn’t die just because you missed a jump. Something needs to be done and that’s the equation that is hard to figure out. We owe it to my aunt, Christopher Reeve, and other families who have suffered the loss of a loved one.
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Brad… forgive me as I know you’re missing your aunt but the poster who you (Appear) to be responding to was talking about the English Grand national. That is one of the toughest Steeplechase races in the world. It is in no way a direct relation to the individualized sport of eventing. Now comparing Chris Reeve’s accident to your aunt’s… also not exactly an apples to apples scenario, though admittedly much closer than comparing her death to any horse deaths in the Grand National.
There’s been a massive fund raising campaign this year and ongoing before that to help riders and folks involved with eventing to bring more frangible technology to the cross country fences used. Have you considered donating to this fund or spreading the word? It will never bring your aunt back, and from all reports, likely wouldn’t have helped save her life but it could save someones.
I know that grief is a very complex thing but as you keep returning here to talk to us, maybe consider how much more rewarding it could be to share this info and return and say things like " Hey guys… I got 5 of my friends to donate to the USEA fund!" or things like that. I know for myself I am much happier and enjoy sharing when I have helped to raise awareness for our horse world issues and through that simple act of sharing whatever issue might be one step closer to being improved.
At least that works for me.
Em
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Thanks for that link, I will do that. Whatever it takes to make the sport safer for current and future riders.
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Gilruth was entered at Badminton on like minimum qualis. As a combination she and her horse did 28 starts with an insane sad track record regarding completions.
The way she approached and jumped the table was equal to a mission impossible. But in all she had no business riding there and it still makes me as angry as the original topic in this post. The sport need better officials and tighter rules to make sure people don’t rush through the levels.
About Shanghai Joe that really was a freak accident. The horse slipped on the gravel and rammed into an old solid stone/concrete fence bit by the big house and broke his shoulder I believe it was.
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On the topic of Emily Gilruth and falling horses mentioned upthread…
Emily Gilruth was the original rider of Ashdale Cruise Master and sued the owner for breach of contract when the horse went to Oliver Townend. She won 60K GBP when the court decided in her favor.
Ashdale Cruise Master would have been more accurately called Ashdale Crash Master. He fell and fell (including at Rolex and Badminton) and was put down at a relatively young age due to neurological problems. The chicken-and-the-egg of the neuro issues - was it why he fell or due to the falls? - is a very good question. Why he was allowed to continue in the sport after repeat falls is perhaps a better question.
Emily Gilruth’s brother has been in the news very often lately as he’s the current UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock. Like much of the current Tory government, he has a tendency to confabulate so much of the press he generates isn’t positive. That said, he has often claimed to support the NHS because it ‘saved his sister’s life’ in her riding accident.
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I know this may sound silly, but couldn’t their be some type of foam or soft material on the ground to protect riders in case they fall? Like they fall on the soft material instead of the hard ground?
That isn’t a silly question and on the surface sounds like a great idea. The problem is horse’s aren’t always predictable, sometimes they don’t take off exactly where they are supposed to or don’t take off at all and stepping in something soft that they can sink into while they are at speed would cause even more injuries. That is the kind of brainstorming we need though so keep thinking.
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The death list shows that 80+% of riders died by getting crushed by their horse.
Softer landing material would be nice for a rider thrown clear but would do nothing to help the vast majority who suffer massive crush or blunt force trauma injuries from their horse falling on them.
We can go around and around on this for another 20 years but the critical fact remains the same as it was in 2000 when TRL undertook the first rotational fall studies that led to the development of frangible technology:
If we can prevent the falling horse from crushing the rider, the death and serious injury rate to riders will be much lower.
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Also, I came across this fall photo. It’s from 6 years ago.
As you can see, the top rail has broken away. But, also as you can see, the horse and rider are on a scary trajectory.
The purpose of frangible technology was to change the trajectory of the horse in a rotational fall so that it was no longer on a crush course with the rider.
I think both were ok.
From a photo, you can’t tell anything about speed but the jump is not big and it strikes me as a fence that would not require a frangible device in terms of its design.
Thoughts or comments, anyone?
Not silly at all! In all that is part of the idea behind AirJackets.
But when big accidents have happened the makers are really reluctant to respond to the question of: were the riders saved by the air jackets or did they get seriously injured because of them.
The air needs to go somewhere and there is one brand showing a video of a rotational fall where you can see the air popping AFTER the horse is long gone from on top of the rider…
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