14 Likes
Bad link for me. What happened?
Horse lost bridle (and almost lost Swail) toward the end of the round. Try here (scroll to bottom)
1 Like
Oof, that is scary. Gave such a big release he just pulled the bridle over the ears during his horses sassy moment. At least he finished all the jumps before this. Good save! The first link worked just fine for me.
2 Likes
Wow, that was incredible.
I saw something similar in the Grand Prix at Harrisburg years and years ago. I donât recall now if the bit broke or the bridle came off or what, but the horse was running around the ring and jumping the jumps that happened to be in his path with the rider still on him. Very scary.
1 Like
Heart-stopping moment, but he managed it so well.
When the video showed a slow replay you can see that the saddle almost slips to the side because Swailâs balance was suddenly off. He did just right guiding the horse with the breastplate so that it didnât approach any jumps and eventually slowed down.
Horse looked like âhey this is good! letâs do it this way all the time!â 
6 Likes
He has great balance, for sure. 
3 Likes
The Chronicle has a great photo in this article;
1 Like
This comment continues to crack me up. So true.
1 Like
So scary! But well managed!
This happened to a barnmate a few years ago. Also in a hackamore, and the horse ran around the arena for a solid five minutes. Barnmate was able to hang on and roughly steer with the reins around its neck. Thankfully horse didnât jump anything or exit the arena, but man was it scary. Luckily the horse is really well balanced, but it turns on a dime and is lightning quick, and would pick up pace down each long side.
About its third or fourth trip around the arena, my âwoahsâ were all cracking because I was starting to cry. And I am pretty tough. Eventually, horse stopped and the barnmate literally slid off the side in exhaustion. Horse just stood there looking at her like âwhat happened?â. Lol. Itâs funny now, but it was pretty traumatizing to watch.
1 Like
The same thing happened to somebody in a Grand Prix in Wellington years ago, but he was only part of the way around the course. Somehow he managed to keep steering over the jumps without a bridle, and he was on his way to a clean round until he did not quite manage to navigate over the last jump. The horse ran by it instead, but he was clear up until then.
3 Likes
Now thatâs a video we need to see!
1 Like
Sadly, Iâve never seen a video anywhere. But one of the feed stores in Wellington has a series of photos hanging on the wall. Lol.
1 Like
It was Darren Dlin on Catwalk!
Correct.
Surely someone somewhere has the video! The horse show videographers should post it as a public service. That sounds masterful!
Not a bridle fail, but one of the good moments in Show Jumping. He has a form of jumping equitation that some people complain about (OK, not conventional), but by god, he had the right instinct here;
11 Likes
Classic.
1 Like
It was a stunning example of split second thinking, great balance and, a rider that knows their horse, and he rode the horse he was on that day.
4 Likes
Chronicle article about that ride; (oldies are probably familiar, but many younger riders may not be)
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/tbt-no-hands-no-problem-spooner
