Horse Dies at Millbrook HT

[Rnichols]

Reading this thread makes me so glad I am no longer on Facebook. People will argue about anything. Yes, I know it’s social media in general can inspire arguments, but this seems particularly…ridiculous.

[TwiSedai]

Agreed.

[Bearx2]

@Harriet1

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.

Considering this is an ongoing event I am not surprised that there is a lack of detail. COTH has a history of stating basic information at the onset of these types of events and then going back to edit/ add information as new information becomes available. I would rather see the COTH do this they try to get information in a way that might traumatizes those involved. Personal if I was connected to this horse I would not want a reporter coming up to me me asking questions right after it happens,. I would prefer to have a couple of days to process what happed before I talked to the press.