In case you ever thought you had a bad day at a clinic (video clip)

[asterix]

JER, please stop saying the incident is “different than described” and “if in fact”
As I said in my very first post about this clinic, I do NOT remember whether he grabbed the bridle or the reins, and since the photos didn’t capture that either, we just are going to have to leave it at that. He definitely had his hand on some part of the tack by my horse’s head.
I have said honestly what I remember and what I do not.
It was nearly 100 degrees out, I was trying my best to focus on success and to keep my eyes up, and I simply don’t know exactly where his hands were. Each time he let go as he was going over the ditch, whether my horse went with him or not.

As for the dog, all I can say is that my horse was not paying him the slightest bit of attention. He is very used to dogs of all sorts and was entirely worried about the ditch, not the dog.

I did not post this or the link to the pics to put Boyd’s behavior in a negative light, but simply because it was a moment in my life where I, too, came close to squashing him and I can imagine how this rider felt.
My horse was throwing an epic hissy fit and I do not think I have the guts to have pushed through it without help. After this he went on (as you can see in the pics) to jump a new training ditch on the first try and pretty willingly. He had tantrums about ditches before this clinic, and he’s has tantrums after. I would say the biggest takeaway for me was that if I am going to present to a ditch I need to be prepared to see it through.

[talkofthetown]

Asterix, what a handsome boy! I absolutely loath getting launched over Horse Eating Ditches; way to hang on!

[RPM]

[QUOTE=JER;9012519]
Well, okay then, incident not as described.

I take a dim view of this kind of ‘bravery’ around horses. I understanding the standing near the jump thing, but you do it in a safe way, in a place where you’re not the only escape route. And grabbing a horse’s bridle in that situation (and in most situations – you don’t want your fingers caught there) would be rather stupid.

Boyd is one of those riders who seems to be hurt a lot. Various fractures, ‘freak’ accidents while leading horses. Maybe some people find this funny and evidence of how ‘tough’ he is.

Not me. Maybe I haven’t ridden in the Olympics or whatever but I’ve spent a whole lot of time around horses in my life. I’ve also spent a lot of time around various accidents as an EMT. Yes, accidents can happen, but as a general rule, if someone goes from ‘freak accident’ to ‘freak accident’, those accidents might not be so ‘freak’.

(FWIW, Boyd is a nice person and my horses have enjoyed clinics with him.)[/QUOTE]

Thank you for posting this. I was thinking along the same lines. I don’t know a lot about UL eventing, but horse sense is horse sense and stupidity is stupidity.

[JER]

[QUOTE=asterix;9012936]
JER, please stop saying the incident is “different than described” and “if in fact”[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure what’s bothering you about this. At first, you said Boyd ‘took his bridle and led him across the ditch’.

Because that’s something that I perceive as dangerous, especially with a hand holding the bridle, I asked for clarification.

You said you didn’t remember, except that he had his hand on some part of the bridle. You provided photos, which don’t show the incident.

This is why I said it was (1) ‘different than (originally) described’ and (2) unclear as to exactly what happened. That sounds fair to me.

This thread was started on a comedic note but the fact is, not all of us find a video of someone getting flattened by a horse very funny. Safety – and the grave consequences of taking risks with horses – is a big topic of discussion on this board, so when clinic photos and videos are posted here in which safety practices are apparently lacking, not everyone is going to be chuckling.

[asterix]

I guess I didn’t expect to have my language analyzed for safety issues - to be as precise as possible I should have said “grabbed some part of my horse’s tack near his head”, but as I was relating a story and not submitting a report, I plead imprecision there. Likewise, although I knew there were many photos of the sequence, including ones with Boyd hopping across the ditch, eventually followed by my horse launching himself, I did not go back and analyze them before mentioning that there were photos. Again, I was telling a story about a time I came closer than I would have wanted to squashing Boyd, not filing a report about safety practices.
I recognize your concern over grabbing a bridle, and I am neither chuckling now (nor did I then, as I think you can see in the photos) over being in that situation on a horse I was having trouble controlling. People can get hurt that way and although it ended well I certainly was not happy to be in that moment at the time.

[kcmel]

My trainer does this sometimes (yeah, she worked for Boyd). It always scares me, but fortunately I have never run over her.

I have also parked my big draft x by a bank when she was trying to get my young horse down it. Young horse did not seem to care that we were there and almost slammed into us. So I just got out of the way and let them figure it out.

[enjoytheride]

So now, thanks one simple video and a simple follow up Boyd Martin is no better than She Who Has Been Named?

Good ol COTH.

[Jealoushe]

I think that’s taking a bit of a leap.

It does seem the celeb BNRs get away with some unsafe moves more than others though.

[runNjump86]

Boyd is not the only Olympian to do this. This appeared on my Instagram a little while ago, and when I started reading this thread I tracked it down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO8AixUjZvZ/?tagged=haltorrunovertheolympian&hl=en

[surgicalstainless]

Not to derail, but — Asterix, is that a Kan vest? How do you like it? Specifically, how does it do in the heat? I recently acquired one, but I’ve never seen anyone else wear a Kan, and I’d love some other opinions. Nice riding, too!

[Heinz_57]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;9013063]
So now, thanks one simple video and a simple follow up Boyd Martin is no better than She Who Has Been Named?

Good ol COTH.[/QUOTE]

I’m a little bit mortified that such person was even brought up here as a comparison. I know the weather has been crappy, but come on folks, get out of the armchair, go do some trot sets. Eventing has bigger potatoes to fry than Boyd getting body checked by an uncontrollable horse.

I’m sure the rider was mortified (who wouldn’t be?) and Boyd seemed to get a chuckle out of it.

And I’m sure that if those heavily criticizing him here are SO deeply bothered by what they perceive to be such disregard for safety on his part, that they will not patronize his clinics in the future. :lol:

[sophie]

[QUOTE=runNjump86;9013084]
Boyd is not the only Olympian to do this. This appeared on my Instagram a little while ago, and when I started reading this thread I tracked it down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO8AixUjZvZ/?tagged=haltorrunovertheolympian&hl=en[/QUOTE]

My instructor does that with me and my mare, who has a tendency to yahoo over fences, then take off bucking on landing, especially after lines. So she stands about 5 strides after the last jump and tells me to stop before her. Aarrgh. It does keep the mare’s focus but man, the woman has a death wish!

That sequence of photos is great, Astérix! But the dog…he was so close to your horse’s hind quarters! Dangerous - in the same situation, my mare would have kicked him (and probably bucked me off).

[asterix]

Sophie, my horse was started by fox hunters and is really pretty immune to dogs, luckily.
Thanks to those of you who said nice things about him (although he was being a stinker just then, he is super cute if I do say so myself) and about my non-falling-off, although part of what I learned is that all that cavorting around is not in fact going to dislodge me and I need to just try my best to ignore it.

surgical, yes, it’s a KAN vest. I’ve been wanting one for a while and ran into a vendor at our HT last year. I tried one on off the rack and it fit pretty perfectly (although you can literally trim the components with a knife if they are too long, and you can order it custom-fit if need be).
It is heavy and bulky on the hangar, and when you first put it on. I actually really like riding in it, though - it feels solid in a comforting way. Maybe that’s just me. It certainly doesn’t get in my way, although if I were someone who hacked out in my vest I’d end up trimming the back a bit as it is long for sitting full in my new saddle (not in these pics - new one has a bit more of a cantle).

As for hot - that day was SO SO SO hot and I was certainly cooked by the time we finished our extracurricular maneuvers…but honestly, I don’t think it’s any hotter than any other solid vest.

[Boyd]

JER… you are a dooshbag!

[PaintedHunter]

https://i.imgflip.com/8j2l6.jpg

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

PaintedHunter - I love it! (And I love your blog, too)

[PaintedHunter]

Why thank you! I love your face. I don’t know what it looks like, but I love it.

[merrygoround]

Asterix-well ridden!

But don’t you hate it when you have to work that hard?

[JER]

[QUOTE=Boyd;9013413]
JER… you are a dooshbag![/QUOTE]

For calling out unsafe practices around horses?

Seriously?

[asterix]

Oh, merry, how I wish I could convey to him that all that prancing around is So Much Harder than just hopping over the ditch.

In a perhaps futile attempt to put this thread back on a less combative note, I have an update from the roached pony with ditch issues. My BO just dug a sort of trench across the gate to our indoor to allow the big sliding door a proper track to move. It is perhaps 4 inches wide and 4 inches deep. My horse has been in and out of the indoor there at least twice since this appeared. Today he went in without issue, but as we were walking out (on the buckle, naturally), he suddenly decided this, it was a Ditch. Without warning, he LEPT across it and shot out, bucking, right past…Jimmy Wofford, who had just finished teaching me an entirely uneventful jump lesson. :lol:

So let that be a reminder that horses will be unpredictable, and even dangerous (since he not only nearly dumped me but also could have whacked my head on the top of the indoor), at any time.
Also, that they have brains the size of a pea.
Also, that we still have a ditch problem.
Also, totally not all MY ditch problem.