https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/horse-dies-at-millbrook-horse-trials/
Not a lot of information yet.
“.
Could’ve Ben And Jerrys, a 19-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Nintender—Newborn Trixical Walker) ridden and owned by Morgan McGrath, had just completed the cross-country in the open preliminary and was leading the division.”
Collapsed and died
Necropsy at the Cornell University Equine Hospital
Rider uninjured
Very sad. I always thought his name was so cute.
The hysterics over the article headline on Facebook really surprised me though. I thought it was factual and to the point. A lot of the commentators really disagree with how it was written.
Yeah, I’m not sure how it was written differently than any of the other death announcements through the years.
I also noticed a lot of comments about the heat, which really threw me off. People didn’t seem to realize that the weather in Millbrook on Saturday was low 80s and very low humidity - almost perfect weather for a summer show. Rather infuriating to read so many pearl clutching comments of “why were they competing in this heat?!”
Leaving the title of the report aside…
There is a peculiar lack of detail in their reporting. No mention of the conditions that day (very temperate). No mention that Millbrook organizers had set up cooling stations for the event and were well prepared to support athletes (both equine and human). No mention that this horse looked quite strong on course and finished cross country looking well before tragedy suddenly struck. And, no mention that this horse and rider combo had competed successfully at the 3* level in the past.
There also were no quotes from actual people connected with the venue or the horse.
There is no reporter byline on the piece.
There are no photos included in the piece, just the image from the official Millbrook press release.
All this seems to indicate AI generated this report.
AI generated content is becoming increasingly common in journalism these days. It’s unsurprising that a publication would use it. However, it seems like this story might have been best approached with a personal human touch. Writing that reflected some human sensitivity. By all accounts of people who were there on Saturday, this was a devastating tragedy.
Sincere condolences to all involved.
My deepest condolences go to Morgan and all of Newton’s connections. 
Regarding the FB comments, COTH has reported in this style now at least since 2022, although I agree “Horse Dies” is a hard headline to hear about. No one wants horses to die. I thought the article was consistent with their other reportings of fatalities:
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/horse-euthanized-following-luhmuhlen-cci4-s-cross-country/
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/horse-euthanized-after-accident-in-wec-ocala-grand-prix-qualifier/
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/horse-dies-at-apple-knoll-farm-event/
Other online publications usually start with “We are deeply saddened to…” (EN, USEA, etc), but this headline and reporting style is consistent for COTH.
First of all, I offer my deepest condolences to his connections. Losing a horse is always traumatic, let alone in such an unexpected manner. I am so sorry they are going through this.
On the topic of whether or not the headline and article were “appropriate,” it’s such a catch 22. I think the article was perfectly appropriate. I say it’s a catch 22 because technically, this isn’t a news story. Horses collapse without warning often enough (not saying that dismissively) and it’s not a sign of any wrong-doing. If a horse dies even in a completely unexpected and unpreventable manner and the organizations don’t report it, it makes it appear they are trying to hide something. But when it’s reported, you open the connections’ painful and private loss up to public discussion. That’s kind of unfair. I don’t know what the answer is.
This article is very consistent with how COTH has reported deaths in the past (pre-AI era). They do a very no minimal report that essentially summarizes the press release. I don’t think this was AI.
Fair enough. I can see what you are saying from the other stories linked. Although two had actual bylines.
Unfortunately, the lack of detail in the reporting resulted in many commentators making erroneous claims about heat on Facebook.
Hi Harriet, welcome!
But I disagree with a lot of your suggestions.
I doubt COTH had a reporter on site at Millbrook, so it makes sense why there are no photos and quotes. I honestly think it would be rude to ask the connections for a quote in the wake of the death, and the organizers and officials are unlikely to have any more information at this time.
The necropsy is pending. We don’t know why the horse collapsed. So providing extraneous information about cooling stations, the appearance of the horse, the ability of the combination, etc. potentially is irrelevant and creates unnecessary conjecture or bias.
The lack of byline does not phase me, I view this like an announcement or obituary. They don’t tend to have bylines.
I understand the writing may feel cold and impersonal. Personally, I’m okay with that because it makes me feel like they are just delivering the information without bias. But I can appreciate that the addition of more human compassion would be valued by many.
There are a number of off the shelf AI tools on the market now that are specifically used for pushing out edited press releases quickly. Corporations and various trade publications use them. That is specifically why I made mention of the byline.
Example linked.
I don’t think COTH needed to have a reporter on the ground. The press release from Millbrook actually named a point of contact and provided a phone number for any outlets seeking info to reach out to.
It seems like COTH could have assigned a staffer to call the designated point of contact and get a quote from the organizers.
As far as a photo, perhaps the organizers could have offered one, or COTH used something generic. Instead, they used the image which tied to the 40th anniversary of this particular competition on this tragic story. Given that the sport is at risk from lost venues, and ongoing pressure related to social license to operate, this seems like an unfortunate choice.
There is no image with the article, at least not when I view it on my phone. All the images are auto-generated advertisements from their sponsors. Is there an image when viewed on a non-mobile device?
Maybe there is a way to disable ads on a death announcement? That seems fair. But also may not be easily done. Not to mention, in this era of the extreme expense of running a publication, they rely on advertising revenue to exist.
Which brings me back to your other points. Sure, they could have purchased a photo ($$$) or put a staffer on the case to make phone calls ($$$), but this is just an announcement. They don’t have staff working around the clock to gather this information like a 24/7 newsroom might.
They delivered the information in a concise and timely matter. If it turns out there is more to the story, they will undoubtedly follow up. But right now we don’t know that there will be more to this story.
They (or someone else) would have done it anyway.
It does not matter how many truthful points are in an article, people want to be outraged and ignore what they think does not apply to their outrage.
I looked up this article just to see about photos.
I am using a PC with Chrome as my browser, no ad blocker.
This is the whole entire article as I see it.
Just ads (there are more ads along the right side of the page, like always, not included in my screen shot).
No photos as part of this article at all.
Back to that whole catch 22 dilemma:
If they try to eliminate every possible question or criticism, they will inadvertently miss something (Ah-ha! You didn’t say anything about ___! That must be it!). Even if they miraculously manage to be completely thorough without creating any bias or supposition, you get met with the classic “you can’t trust the press” argument.
It’s lose-lose.
It looks like the image with the Chronicle article on Facebook was also carried over from the official press release.
As far as I know, there is no image on the article itself.
But if you go to the COTH home page
https://www.chronofhorse.com/
and scroll down to the link to the article, it DOES display the 40th anniveray of Millbrook HT logo above the title to the article.
Agree. Some people don’t seem to have any sense of geography and how that plays in terms of weather.
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