Many of you will know that Monica Spencer’s horse Artist was originally retrained and rehomed by EventStars. EventStars has also restarted many other TBs who have gone on to successful eventing careers, mostly in New Zealand. They are really wonderful advocates for TB aftercare and TBs in sport.
The 10 year old son of the family who own EventStars was killed in a terrible accident over the weekend, and his father, brother, and another child were injured.
This is when I wish there was a care button. That is indeed. sad news!
I don’t know how accessible this is outside of NZ but there is a Givealittle:
"The Schick Family have been overwhelmed and extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support shown at this extremely difficult time.
In lieu of any flowers or food the family has asked anyone who wishes to make a contribution, kindly make a donation to this Give a Little page. Rod, Oli & Jack who were rescued at the scene would love to personally distribute all funds to the amazing emergency services, Cambridge Fire Brigade, Hato Hone St John Ambulance and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust who were truly amazing in our time of need. A huge thanks also to our local Police who were fantastic.
Our love, thanks and gratitude go out to them all"
Oh this is heartbreaking, I’ve followed their page for years.
I’m so sorry…
Sending virtual hugs, and healing vibes, from an internet stranger in Colorado.
People have certainly stepped up on the donation page which is nice to see. 
I’m starting to think ATVs are not appropriate for children. A friend of a friend dropped her kids at another parent’s house. That parent let them take the ATV out and both kids were struck by a vehicle and killed. No charges were filed against the driver or the adult who should have been watching the kids. I believe a civil case is pending.
I will say my friend and I had a blast riding ATVs when we were teens but there’s definitely a difference in judgement between an almost adult and a child.
Not sure who was driving in this case or if this was truly just a tragic accident.
I used to pay Accidental Death claims. One of the most heart breaking was a father on a motor bike turned into his son on an ATV. The ATV flipped and the boy was killed.
My father almost lost a friend, he flipped one of the old 3 wheel ATVs into a stream. He was facedown. He was a greens superintendent. Thankfully one of the golf club member noticed him. He was a doctor and saved his life.
My new neighbor has a grass ATV track. Oops they accidently put some of it on my other neighbors property. They have had 2 children flip the ATVs. Mind you the wife is a lawyer. Remind me to never hire her. Apparently they could not be bothered to investigate their property lines.
My friend and I had a bad experience on at ATV.
I don’t have children but would certainly not recommend them for children.
What a tragedy for that family and how generous of them to request donations for the first responders. I worked for a family who lived on a large estate with several ATVs. One of the boys invited a friend over and he crashed head on into a tree and died a few days later. Helmets were available but they chose not to wear them.
Banning ATVs for kids is not realistic for most farming families. My kids have been driving them since they were really small and we talk about safety a lot, because I do know several kids killed on them. But it’s a farm tool as much as a tractor, etc.
Plus, it is hard to say “ban ATVs but riding horses is fine….” Plenty of kids die falling off horses as well.
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