I never knew Chris got his hands entangled in the reins. How the heck did that happen?
It is called trainer wanting $$ and putting a green rider in above his head.
There are actually some various ideas about that. ^^ If you search the Eventing forum, there’s been significant conversation about him riding at Training, the horse, and the incident as a whole.
And it wasn’t the reins - his hands came up and got tangled in the bridle. That part of the fall was a fluke at least - common consensus is that regardless of the root cause, he should have had a broken arm or collarbone, not his spine.
I actually knew someone who saw his accident. He was really far ahead of the motion and may have jumped ahead?
@Ocean, at the time this accident occurred I recall hearing that he had recently changed trainers because the last one would not allow him to compete at the level he felt he should ride at. It was my understanding that he was with a fairly new young trainer who probably didn’t have the experience or the ability to say no to Superman. Most likely had little to do with money. To my eye he was also poorly mounted. His horse was too small with no neck in front of him. In all it appeared like a very unfortunate accident waiting to happen. I have seen many unfortunate things occur over the years when trainers cannot say no to clients and allow them to call the shots of their program as novices.
.
It is my understanding that he jumped ahead. Also remember that he was not Superman. In other words, he was a big, adult amateur guy who made a mistake. It was a fluke that it ended so, so badly. But it was a very common mistake…
You’re reading his bio and you haven’t noticed that his last name is actually Reeve?
[QUOTE=chunky munky;7733754]
@Ocean, at the time this accident occurred I recall hearing that he had recently changed trainers because the last one would not allow him to compete at the level he felt he should ride at. It was my understanding that he was with a fairly new young trainer who probably didn’t have the experience or the ability to say no to Superman. Most likely had little to do with money. To my eye he was also poorly mounted. His horse was too small with no neck in front of him. In all it appeared like a very unfortunate accident waiting to happen. I have seen many unfortunate things occur over the years when trainers cannot say no to clients and allow them to call the shots of their program as novices.
.[/QUOTE]
I heard the same thing. We used to see him out riding cross country in Bedford Hills & saw some jump up the neck induced refusals. He was always very nice when we met him. It was such a shame.
I think its particularly tough for an athlete with good natural balance to understand the need to take some time to master the lower levels before moving up.
[QUOTE=annashulltz;7733667]
I actually knew someone who saw his accident. He was really far ahead of the motion and may have jumped ahead?[/QUOTE]
The day of the accident, a video taken by a spectator was on the national news. It appeared from the one time I saw it that Reeve went over his horse’s head and hit the log or whatever the obstacle was (I think it was a log) head first. Like straight into the log without putting his hands out or bending. He had told his mother, according to the story, that he had never done that level of eventing before. He looked much bigger than the horse. I wonder what did happen to that horse since he did not go down and seemed fine in the video. It appeared that he did jump ahead and that he did not react or anything to avoid hitting the log with the top of his head. That would have compressed the spine.
[QUOTE=shezabrazenmare;7734021]
I wonder what did happen to that horse since he did not go down and seemed fine in the video. [/QUOTE]
His name was changed and he was sold. Kept competing I believe.
He was about 6’4 riding a horse that was less than 16hh from what I’ve heard. That’s like an adult blasting around on a tricycle. Nothing good could happen if something went slighty awry.
Is the general consensus that no one really knows why the horse stopped? Someone told me once that the fence was casting bad shadows.
I actually think some of the information on this thread is incorrect. The horse he was on was quite experienced. My recollection was it had competed to the 2* level–that is several levels above what he was competing. He had good trainers all along and was a very competitive individual—he understood his limitation and probably enjoyed the sport because of its challenges. He was a very athletic man. He didn’t have the easiest build of body for riding but was pretty good for his level—and while not super experienced, he was NOT a beginner. I don’t think this was the first time he was competing at training level…but regardless, training level is NOT a high level and very straight forward and easy level on a reasonably athletic horse. Hell…my own personal first time eventing was at training level.
He jumped ahead and the horse stopped. He fell and hit wrong. 95%+ falls at a stop and at a fence like his would have no injury other than mud on their clothes. But like ANY fall, if you hit wrong…the results can be devastating.
From those that I know who knew him…he was not competing above his level but was certainly not super experienced yet and was not a terrible rider. Tranining level is a VERY typical level to gain a lot of experience and he was well mounted with an experienced horse but being a large man, he could and did affect his horse’s balance. He just made an error, his horse stopped…not in a dirty manner but just couldn’t jump with him on his neck and he fell landing really really wrong. A very unfortunate accident.
oh please, go Google “William Fox-Pitt”
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7734076]
I actually think some of the information on this thread is incorrect. The horse he was on was quite experienced. My recollection was it had competed to the 2* level–that is several levels above what he was competing. He had good trainers all along and was a very competitive individual—he understood his limitation and probably enjoyed the sport because of its challenges. He was a very athletic man. He didn’t have the easiest build of body for riding but was pretty good for his level—and while not super experienced, he was NOT a beginner. I don’t think this was the first time he was competing at training level…but regardless, training level is NOT a high level and very straight forward and easy level on a reasonably athletic horse. Hell…my own personal first time eventing was at training level.
He jumped ahead and the horse stopped. He fell and hit wrong. 95%+ falls at a stop and at a fence like his would have no injury other than mud on their clothes. But like ANY fall, if you hit wrong…the results can be devastating.
From those that I know who knew him…he was not competing above his level but was certainly not super experienced yet and was not a terrible rider. Tranining level is a VERY typical level to gain a lot of experience and he was well mounted with an experienced horse but being a large man, he could and did affect his horse’s balance. He just made an error, his horse stopped…not in a dirty manner but just couldn’t jump with him on his neck and he fell landing really really wrong. A very unfortunate accident.[/QUOTE]
This is similar to the story I have read quoted as his words.
A freak thing, which unfortunately can happen and we all risk every time we go out there.
In the thread here on Eventing, a long-time COTHer on post 11 mentions having ridden the horse before CR, and that it had gone Int previously.
SO’s father had worked with CR, and has mentioned before how nice he was to work with.
OP, if you want more information, you may be better off posting on the Eventing forum, or doing a search there, since CR’s riding accident was at an Eventing competition, not H/J. Perhaps you were confused because of the Culpeper location? They’ve got HITS as a H/J show there now, but there also used to be an event there that I don’t believe runs anymore.
IIRC it was a log fence on a downhill slope and it was a mare. Eastern Flyer maybe? But that’s long past.
Other then that, can’t we let this rest? The surviving family has had more then it’s share of tragedy and there is little point in rehashing and digging up old speculation or finding fault. Not like he was ripping around without a helmet. Some, if not most, of us have been guilty of getting impatient and attempting things our advisors are against, sometimes when they were not looking. It was an accident in a sport where riders do assume the risks of galloping around on large animals.
OP needs to center on the rest of his bio, his accomplishments before and contributions after as well as his late wife’s work right up until her death. I am sure that’s why the assignment was made or book approved for it.
This. I’m surprised that people are focusing on the jumping ahead. If that were the cause of the accident, we’d see a lot more of the same type of injuries. The number of people I see jumping ahead on a regular basis…including myself…is incredibly high.
CR’s accident is just like when the rest of us fall off and most of the time are just fine, but every once in a while have a big injury. His injury was just really, really bad. If we never moved up until we perfected our riding, we’d all still be walking circles or trotting crossrails.
I’m going to quote this from PhoenixFarm in that old thread:
mvp, LOL, in a word, no. Bucket was a BIG boy. Every bit of 17 hands, may have even been more, and very, very solid and stout. I’m 6’0 and like a big horse, and he was just big. He was somewhat short coupled, but he was also uphill.
Chris was also very conscious of his size in relation to his horses–he wouldn’t look at anything smaller than 17 hands (I remember because when he came to our barn he had a horse on trial, but then it didn’t pass the vet so he asked our trainer to look for something else, and he was very specific about size and build because of his size).
I will also say, what I’ve said many times on any thread about this incident. Despite what everone wants to believe, Chris was not al ill-mounted, ill-trained, inexpereinced rider. Yes, he was an amateur, and yes, he didn’t ride full time, and yes he was a big guy, but he had competed extensively at Training level on a previous horse, and I saw him ride multiple times, up close, was even in a a few lessons with him, on Bucket and another horse, and the guy rode well over big fences. He had an above average eye, decent balance, and for all he was a bit top heavy, he was a lifelong athlete and fit as heck.
I have always maintained that people disparage his riding as a way to reassure themselves that what happened to him, won’t happen to them. Well guess what folks, he was no different, better, or worse than anyone else who pursues riding as a hobby outside of a career and family, and rides and competes as best they can on one horse. What happened to him can happen to any of us, any time, at any level. To think or say otherwise is just a lie you tell yourself to pretend your safe.
I won’t pretend he didn’t make a mistake, by all descriptions he missed, jumped up the neck, and the horse stopped out of self preservation. But who here hasn’t missed and jumped up the neck at least once? I know at one point in my life I felt like I was making a career of that move, and thanks to good luck, I didn’t end up in his situation.
It was an accident, pure, and simple, and no more or less preventable than any other accident. The same fall repeated a hundred times, and 99 of them one little thing would changed, and he would have walked away bruised, and nothing else.
It was an accident, and it was very sad. It was not the fault of his excellent trainers or his very nice horse. It was just a very bad day, in a public place, to a public person, someone intelligent and brave and who worked hard at his riding and cared about his horses just like the rest of us.
Let me tell you, for the next many years my coach was extremely aggressive about correcting people who jumped ahead. “No one gets hurt falling off the horse’s butt.”
[QUOTE=Tonkafriend;7733779]
You’re reading his bio and you haven’t noticed that his last name is actually Reeve?[/QUOTE]
Mmmm isn’t she using the ‘s’ as showing possession, the bio belonging to Chris Reeve?
In which case the name is correct but is the punctuation should there be a ’ appearing at some point?
We have ALL jumped ahead and we have ALL had our horse stop because of it. Hell, I spent my first year as a working student picking sand out of my teeth because I could NOT comprehend not moving my shoulders. It was a very typical mistake with very tragic results. It sucks. It has always been my understanding, as bfne and the link from the old thread stated, that he was a decent amateur rider who was always well mounted. And I’ve known LOTS of well mounted, decent amateurs to make that very mistake, and get up and walk away.
