I definitly agree with you. We should always try to make riding and jumping as safe as possible. I was just trying to make the point that it can still be dangerous. As another poster said, I have also seen wood rails hit and spinter into sharp peices.
How many scary/dangerous jumps have we seen and thought “Gosh, it’s lucky that horse/rider didn’t get hurt!” This time they did.
I just don’t think it was a consious disregaurd for the well being of the horse.
Here’s what will appear in this week’s issue. If parts of it sound familiar, it’s because Nancy Jaffer contributed to the report.
MORRIS RESPONDS TO CRITICISM FROM FLORIDA SCHOOLING ACCIDENT
What witnesses called “a freak accident” at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Fla., caused the death of a horse whose amateur rider was taking a lesson with renowned trainer George Morris, resulting in shock waves felt throughout the hunter/jumper world.
The Jan. 21 incident prompted the American Horse Shows Association to start looking into the matter and also set off a barrage of heated comments on the Internet. Most of those writing to chat rooms or bulletin boards using E-mail aliases criticized Morris, the U.S. Equestrian Team’s co-chef d’equipe—though none had first-hand knowledge of what happened.
Morris said he built a jump of less than 3’6" using a hollow pipe (with bare ends), approximately 6 feet long with a 1 1/2-inch diameter, as a stationary rail atop a narrow stone wall. The fence was the second obstacle on a 10-jump course being ridden by a group of students.
The pipe was dislodged as Rosamond SmytheÂ’s horse, Foreign Exchange, hit it.
“When you touch this little pipe, it falls down, because itÂ’s so light,” said Morris, explaining he can easily hold it with one hand.
Foreign Exchange “flipped [the pipe] off. As the pipe was falling down and as he was landing, he stumbled . . . then he turned over,” said Morris.
“I canÂ’t tell you exactly what hit what, whether he landed on the pipe, whether he landed on his foot, whether the point of his toe cut the artery, whether the pipe cut the artery. I was watching him but more the girl [Smythe], who was thrown off far to the front,” said Morris.
“I canÂ’t tell you whether he broke his neck; he did sever an artery in his chest. He was gone within three to four minutes,” continued Morris, calling it a “terrible tragedy.”
Although a veterinarian was on the scene immediately, there was nothing he could do for the 10-year-old Belgian-bred.
“I feel very, very badly for the horse; very badly for the person,” Morris continued. “It never crossed my mind anything could happen because itÂ’s such a light, flimsy little jump.”
Smythe, who had jumped the pipe previously, agreed and was saddened by the anger expressed toward Morris.
“If it takes a public statement to say everyone involved feels this is a tragic accident and everyone is sorrowful but everyone understands this is just one of the risks you have to take when you fall in love with horses, IÂ’m willing to go out in public and do that,” said Smythe, Medfield, Mass., who competes in the adult amateur jumper division.
“It was a freak accident—there was total safety, and itÂ’s the risks inherent in riding,” added Smythe, 42, who returned the next day for another lesson. “Everyone knows that when you fall off, the first thing you have to do is get back on. ThatÂ’s why I went back. ItÂ’s the first rule of horsemanship. ItÂ’s difficult for everyone.”
Jumper trainers confirm that the pipes are commonly utilized to train horses. ItÂ’s against AHSA rules to use them in shows or schooling areas, but the Winter Equestrian Festival was not yet under way at the time of the accident. Morris was working in a private ring he rents at the show complex, and he said he does not use the pipes during competitions.
The AHSA started investigating “for background,” said Executive Director Kevin Carlon. He noted, however, if the organization receives complaints in writing from members, then it could “formally investigate,” even though the WEF had not yet begun.
Morris, who said he had been jumping fences made with pipes for 45 years, learned how to use them from his trainers, Gordon Wright and former U.S. Equestrian Team Coach Bert de Nemethy.
When a hoof hits a pipe, “it makes a pinging noise, so it makes a horse more alert. It has never given a horse of mine a big knee because it is so light. This is the first time IÂ’ve ever had any problem. ItÂ’s a very safe fence,” said Morris, who explained itÂ’s particularly effective in preventing horses from being careless at narrow fences.
He resumed lessons later in the afternoon, for which he was criticized. He explained that psychologically, it was important for those who witnessed the accident to jump again that day, instead of sleeping on it.
“I shook like a leaf,” said another Morris student, Amber Mitchell-Peck, who witnessed the horseÂ’s death. She went home “to get my bearings” before trying the jump again.
“The point is, youÂ’ve got to get over it,” she said. “I really believe [Morris] didnÂ’t do anything wrong,” she said. “In a million years, it probably wouldnÂ’t happen again.”
Smythe conceded that “thereÂ’s always the risk of the random freak accident. Unfortunately, I had to be the person who had the random freak accident happen to me in the most public venue with one of the most publicly acclaimed teachers around.”
But Smythe continues to trust Morris.
“ThereÂ’s no doubt about my confidence in the safety of his training and his lessons. It was a freak accident, not due to a compromise of safety or any kind of stretch of the horseÂ’s scope or any of that type of thing,” she said. “It has been a very emotional ordeal.”
Erin,
I too appreciate the info. However, I hope that the article in the Chronicle will contain something more for those of us who pay for a subscription.
LucianCephus and Rusti: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! My feelings exactly. The article does nothing to change my mind about what happened, GM’s responsibility, or the general attitude of the H/J world toward the reprehensible practice of poling - whether with loose wooden poles or fixed metal ones!
GAYLE WROTE: “I am glad to see that the facts of the case have been made public. Personally, all of the rhetoric and character assasination accomplished nothing.”
She further wrote: “Just as shocking: the people who started the original posts on the whole incident calling for George Morris to be drawn and quartered (or worse!) have disappeared and not been as gracious and human to apologize for jumping to conclusions before the facts were known, AND tearing down anyone who dared to disagree with them.”
Gayle, I couldn’t agree with you more. Bravo!
Well, Erin, you say that ‘enough is enough’ - but the fact is that the article gets pretty down on those of us who reacted strongly to the death of a horse. Now I never called for GM to be ‘drawn and quartered’ - in fact I have said several times that if he is to be ‘banned’ then we would have to ban most of the professional trainers who show the A circuits. But I do feel that this ‘accident’ was inevitable. I understood the major facts of the accident within a few days and reacted to them. My opinion is not changed simply because there have now been two articles that restate these facts. I think that both articles seem pretty one sided - and appear to support the status quo of show jumping/hunters.
You say we need to decide where to go from here. It would have been nice to have seen that stated in the article. What lesson CAN be learned from the death of Foreign Exchange? (wish someone had referred to him by his barn name - seems so cold to call him only by his show name.) Well, the first question is ‘Why was this jump being used?’ - my understanding is that a narrow jump is ‘spookier’ so the horse will jump tighter. Now stiles can also be used to test the rider’s accuracy in getting to the center of a fence. But in that case, why use pipes for rails? Is the fence designed to ‘intimidate’ the horse into pulling his feet higher? Is that necessary? Is it honorable? Perhaps a pipe would go ‘Ping’ if tapped by just a toe, but how does it feel and sound when the horse hits it with his cannon bone? Is using metal rails the best training tactic? And did every horse in the clinic really need to jump that obstacle? These are questions I would love to see answered by GM and all the others who consider this just a freak accident - since their response in the articles implies that they don’t think Anything should change.
Regarding the ‘character assignation’ of GM - perhaps this should be a wake up call to Mr Morris regarding how the general horse public preceives him. Now he may not care, but it is a reality check. I am pleased to learn that he was willing to give advice over the telephone to a stranger. I am happy to hear that there are riders who have taken clinics and never seen him be rude to a rider. But there are many many people who see him another way. And I personally don’t think that insults and intimidation should be a part of teaching. I think that if you respect your students, you don’t resort to nastiness - no matter WHAT mistake the rider may have made. The only apology that I feel compelled to offer is that I stated that GM intimidated and insulted every student - that is an incorrect statement - since I would have no way of knowing, since I have not watched every lesson he has taught. A more correct statement would be to say that Many of his students have been treated with less than kindness. And again, I said before, he is entitled to teach that way - but I don’t think it sets a good example for young riders. They see that style, and tend to copy it, and I don’t think any teacher should ever talk to another human being that way. And it is a sin that many many instructors are guilty of. But that doesn’t make it right. And I still think it was pretty cold hearted to continue the lessons. And I think the continued use of the poles shows that Mr. Morris does not think that anything needs to change. In fact, he felt that riders needed to buck up, get brave and continue to jump the very same obstacle. So am I being judgemental to say that it does not appear that Mr Morris thinks the incident should lead to change? Seems more like stating fact.
I would like to see this episode be the catalyst for a return to more classic horsemanship - meaning that the horse is honored as a willing partner, and not reduced to a servant who needs to be whipped into shape and intimidated into trying a little harder. I would like to think that riders and trainers would start looking for causes to their horses’ sour attitude, lazy legs over fences or hollow carriage. Maybe a better fitted saddle, placed further back would allow the horse to tuck tighter, instead of metal rails, poling, soring or offsets. Perhaps more turn out time or trail rides would improve attitude rather than grabbing a bigger bit, or longer spurs; and maybe chiropractic care would reduce that hollow topline instead of slapping on a pair of drawreins. But these are not issues for AHSA to regulate - it is a personal decision for each horseman to make each and every day that they put a halter on a horse. Will I treat my horse as a willing partner, who is known to try his hardest whenever it is possible - or is a horse a basically lazy creature that needs to be “made” to try harder and “forced” to obey? Think about how you interact with your horse - is it loving or dominant? Is your horse your friend or your servant? How you answer these questions will then dictate what equipment you use when you train - far more effectively than passing more laws. m
Dear Portia, Why not something on a regular pole that would make a noise and startle the horse without endangering him??? Why indeed. Because the “pinging” excuse is just a cover up and making the horse hit something that HURTS so that he will be more careful is why it is done. When a horse hits a pole during a competition, if he hits it hard enough to come down (and sometimes even when it stays up) it makes a “noise”. If something “making a noise” is what is needed, then obviously a horse gets that “lesson” every time it hits a pole.
PETA is going to have a ball with this, said to say. Sure, I would like to see something done to change this practice, but PETA will go over the top and, as they already do, want to ban even riding horses, let alone jumping, let alone poling. This incident is great ammunition for them, and AHSA better think about that when it considers what it is going to do.
I think it is totally natural for people to react with outrage and accusations when they hear a horse died during ANY schooling session. I don’t think ANYONE should now get tarred and feathered for getting angry when they hear a prominent trainer was present, and I am not terribly sure that there are ANY ‘‘facts’’ that could ever be produced that would leave a supervising expert entirely blameless if a horse is killed during a session he is supervising.
All that said, I don’t think there is any way you can make jumping ENTIRELY safe. You are, after all, having a 1200 lb animal go over an obstacle. However, while using a metal bar on top is common and horses are rarely severely hurt(i have a sale catalogue in which every horse is being jumped over a jump with a metal bar on the top) I am not entirely sure that it’s wise. And I don’t think the people who say it just makes a noise are really being honest with us or themselves. I also recognize that a horse that jumps sloppily is a hazard to himself and his rider, and there is a reason for getting a horse to jump well - it’s safer.
Snowbird and Monica: well said!
DarkerHorse and DiscoNun: I NEVER need to pole, or use hurtful means. I think that it is a RESULT of thisd that all of my horses are extremely eager and willing. They are not afraid a jump will hurt them. They jump from joy. True, I am responsible enough not to over-face them. But, interestingly, I have never had a horse that refused a jump anywhere: stadium, field,cross-country, ring. By choice I have never jumped over 4’6" (and that only a few times). I have owned horses with the ability to do more, but I treasure my safety and their soundness.
My horses trust me for good reason. I respect them for the effort they continually put out each time I ask them. I do not abuse their trust and effort.
Regarding jumping triple bars backwards… not sure if it happened in that unfortunate lesson not, but definitely a common practice in “George” lessons. Maybe that’s why folks brought it up?
Thank you, Erin.
Barb Young
George Morris IS a “legend” in the hunter/jumper world, and as he says, it never occured to him that anything could or would happen using such a pole, but it did~ The one question I had was why, after a horse DYING, would GM still continue to use the pole?! Just a quick thought!
LucianCephus,
If you have ever read any of my other posts you would know that I have NEVER been in support of poling. As a matter of fact on another of the topics on this bb I clearly stated that it is time that the AHSA came in line with the FEI and banned the practice all together. Also, I firmly believe that each horse only has a certain amount of scope and some don’t even have the desire to jump. In those cases poling won’t make a horse jump higher or like the job. As far as I am concerned, a good gymnastic is the best way to teach a horse to be more careful and if they just don’t like the jumping aspect, there is always dressage. It is better to make the horse happy and comfortable with what you are asking of him then to try and force the issue with pain. One last thought. One day I hope to school with George (need to get over the chicken issues first!) but if he attempted to pole my horse I would refuse the jump and would not have any difficulty in leaving the session instead of subjecting my horse to the pain of it if he would not bend on the issue. I am not afraid to stand up for her well being.
I am heartened by the number of people who have posted retractions to their comments about the incident before knowing all of the facts. I do feel that asking anyone to go around publicly flogging themselves over an accident is a little over the top though. I am willing to bet that everyone has been doing something in their life either inside the equestrian sport or outside for years that never occured to them it was dangerous until a freak accident happened. No one plans for these things and when it does happen it is a tragedy.
“If it takes a public statement to say everyone involved feels this is a tragic accident and everyone is sorrowful but everyone understands this is just one of the risks you have to take when you fall in love with horses, IÂ’m willing to go out in public and do that,” said Smythe, Medfield, Mass., who competes in the adult amateur jumper division.
UTTER POPPYCOCK!!! If I believed falling in love with a horse would lead me to jeopardize his life, watch him bleed to death in front of my eyes, and then return the next day and REPEAT THE SAME EXERCISE on another hapless animal, I would gladly turn in my credentials as a human being. What nice folk exist in this world of horses…ya gotta couple more, tho, right Ms Smythe? And all insured, one can only hope?
You Morris apologists SICKEN me!!
N.D. Pemberton
Brue,
Actually, I don’t hate Morris, am not at all bitter regarding the man, and have never called for him to be drawn and quartered. In fact, I honestly do not see any reason for a further investigation into the West Palm incident and do not feel any sort of “punishment” is called for, unless he has indeed violated an AHSA rule (which I don’t believe in the case.) What I am so adamantly opposed to is the acolytes who proclaim GM has committed no moral wrong and rationalize the training practices, despite the death of a horse. And, yep, the quote from the owner drove me straight off the wall. See, I am only in this sport because I love the horses…bear with me for one story.
I own a talented young TB, purchased as an investment horse, ie, for resale. In the past 2 years, I have invested an absolute ton of money in him (by my standards at least!) Last spring, my former trainer attempted to show the horse on a day when the poor guy was clearly not rideable. I asked him not to show that day, but the trainer insisted, saying “his friends thought the horse was cute.” I sat by passively and watched as the horse attacked the course like Swaps on amphetimines…it was really no surprise when the trainer left out a stride in the final line. Again, I could only watch as my horse attempted to swim a 3’6" oxer. I said then, to my trainer and myself, it is my responsibility to protect this animal, and I will never again defer to the carelessness of a trainer-god. I have since changed barns, and am rather wondering what to do with my so-called investment…it occurs to me that I’m just going to keep him.
Thank you Erin for giving us the facts. However you didnt suppy us with all of the facts. There was no mention of any opinions of any other influential people. Another trainer perhaps, maybe the vet who handled it. Someone must have actually seen how the horse was hurt and I find the article’s discription of the injury itself to be a little confusing. Im quite disappointed in the Chronicle’s reporting on this one. Is this what we’re going to pay for from now on? A half-ass reporting job on a serious topic that is the subject of much discussion and controversy?
As others mentioned here, there are ways of using metal poles w/out having the danger of the sharp ends. They are cap-able and using them isnt entirely effective in the first place. Using them to cause pain is ridiculous and i understand that this was not the case but using a pole on a 3’6" narrow is kind of useless. Most horses are not going to tap a 3’6" fence and if they did and hit a metal pole, it hurts. Any riders out there who have ever ridden a horse that has tapped a rail and then seemed a little awkward for the next few strides know what i am talking about. It stings to just hit a PVC or wood pole, do they need to hit a metal one too? certainly not…
And for those of you who have noticed and mentioned that nobody has contradicted GM, chances are its because they are afraid to. How would you like to be the one who criticized the all mightly george morris, who, in my opinion, just aint that great.
DarkerHorse, I find your comment absurd. It is my responsibibility, as the rider of my horse, to insure it’s saftey. I NEVER jump metal rods, and I am careful that ALL pole jumps are adequately placed in cups and have squared edges and ends.
Perhaps the point of my post was too obtuse for you: it is the responsibility of the clinician to minimize risk of accident.
Horse sports are not “safe”. Jumping is not “safe”. ACCIDENTS will happen. I have seen a regulation 12 foot rail, jumped by an experienced rider on an experienced horse, SHATTER into two 6 foot pieces with ragged knife-sharp ends when the horse “accidently” struck it with a hoof. A bad bounce or a fall could have had serious consequences. Stop being judgmental, get back to riding, and be careful out there.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chief:
Regarding jumping triple bars backwards… not sure if it happened in that unfortunate lesson not, but definitely a common practice in “George” lessons. Maybe that’s why folks brought it up?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry… you know that because?
For heavens sake, the GM thing was an accident! Are we so blind to the inherent danger of what we do that we don’t think that Bad Things can happen? To us (a friend’s child just had a bad accident, and her pelvis is broken in 3 places), our horses (I’ve had one break its leg in a field, for heaven’s sake), or whatever…
I just don’t get it. Yes, there are Rotten Things in Denmark. But that doesn’t mean the everything is rotten.
Or do you want PETA saying we really shouldn’t be riding horses at all? After all, what most of them want is to eat grass and socialize amongst themselves all day…
(oops, sorry - wrong thread)
Another thanks!
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