“A rider suffered a fall while jumping a log fence at the Preliminary level. The rider received immediate medical attention and was transported to a local hospital. The horse suffered superficial injuries.”
I have only heard that it was a rotational fall but do not know any other information. The footing’s been fine here.
So sad.
I just heard this from a friend via FB P.M, how completely awful. 
I competed at Morven this past weekend; they aggravated the footing and the courses all looked and rode great, we got a little rain but the ground was basically dry and not at all slick - it sounds like just a tragic mishap, as these things usually are. I didn’t walk the P course, but I’m sure details will come out about where this occurred.
My heart goes out the rider, her husband, family and friends.
I competed at Prelim this weekend. Course rode well, there were very few issues across the divisions. I have a guess as to which fence this occurred, the trappiest one, but I don’t want to spread false information so I’ll wait and see when more info comes available.
Just to clarify, this was during schooling. I haven’t been to their schooling days before but I heard it can be absolute madness since they’re only open to school the competition course a year, so everyone wants in.
Oh no! So sorry to hear this. I also rode at Morven this weekend (although just at Novice). Agree that the footing was surprisingly good given how dry it’s been.
Indeed, this is certainly the case - unfortunately.
Not sure whether or not this factored into the accident (so can’t speculate), but it can certainly be dangerous out there on the schooling days.
There was rain overnight so the course may have been slicker today than it was over the weekend.
Well, the overnight rain was VERY light in our area and it has been extremely dry - so I really doubt slick footing was a factor.
Sarah Kozumplik Murphy posted a pic on FB of schooling today at Morven and said the ground was much better after the rain.
This will certainly put a damper on xc schooling immediately after competitions. I think USEA has dissuaded this and I think it may be outlawed after this accident. So sad for the family and friends of this rider.
Wow, how awful. My condolences to everyone who knew this rider and those who were there that day. I can’t imagine.
I have to ask the hard questions in hopes we get answers, was the rider capable at this level, wearing an air vest, jump type etc. I hope the details are eventually known, at least to the Safety Commitee.
We have had quite a few deaths this year at this level, in schooling or warm up. All capable riders so far. Very disturbing trend.
I was just basing it on an instagram post I saw that said “we didn’t bring big enough studs for the muddy Morven today but these girls braved the slick footing”. I guess slick is in the eye of the beholder.
And we have a name… and she had gone advanced.
https://useventing.com/news-media/news/rider-fatality-at-morven-park-international-equestrian
Reports on Fb indicate her husband had a fall this weekend as well and broke his leg. Awful few days.
Em
How awful. Sounds like another very experienced equestrian.
I remember back a few years after one of the studies had analyzed riders deaths. It was found that the more experienced riders were prone to dying more because unlike the less experienced riders, their positions were so solid that they tended not to be loose in the tack and as a result stayed too close to the mass of the animal and were often crushed in a rotational fall or a fall where the horse fell on them.
I remember thinking about this a lot. That the people dying were in fact too good.
Horrible to be here thinking these things again. Even after all the new safety measures and equipment.
Praying for another eventer friend who is in the ICU as well with a brain injury. Difficult times.
Em
I can’t tell if she wore an air vest, does anyone know?
I cannot speak to this tragic situation, nor do I ride at this level, but I suspect that the better riders are also riding the greener horses who are more likely to make a mistake. I know that I, as an amateur, am VERY cautious as to what I chose to jump, keeping the heights at the low end of my capability on solid fences.
Once again, we try to find a reason for these rider fatalities, just the same as how people try to find a reason for why a particular person has cancer.
But cancer is mostly a result of bad luck.
While we can point to some cases where the rider was dangerous or the horse was unsafe, most of the time, it’s just bad luck. The laws of physics don’t go your way.
And bad luck is scary because it might be your turn next no matter how many frangibles we build or how much safety equipment we wear.
Now this is something that I do know about. Generally, cancer is a combination of genetics and lifestyle choices. It depends, of course, on the cancer. Similarly, to some extent, many accidents are not preventable given the choices that we make to jump solid things. Some, however, are, and we can learn by investigating these accidents which factors we can alter to prevent future occurrences.
Maybe the analysis for improvement could happen in another thread, perhaps the WTF thread?
It would be nice to have a place just for expressing sympathies and grief.
All of the important discussion doesn’t all have to happen in one thread. Just for consideration.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
