From my reading of the base page this came from, it’s national starts.
It’s obvious that this topic makes your heart hurt, and you feel like you are banging your head against a wall with people who don’t care. That is ok, and as an amateur rider who puts their horses safety above the sport, you are welcome to those emotions, frustrations and hurt from horses dying.
I do ask you to put yourself into the pants of the rider who just lost a horse. Continuously commenting with sarcasm, frustration, anger and commendation does not help. Discussing safety initiatives, scientific evaluations and steps that have been taken to improve the sport absolutely do. There is a way to have this discussion, and while emotions should come into play, rational discourse should be foremost on everyone’s mind.
But more importantly, disgust at a rider who you don’t know, don’t know their skill levels, do not know the circumstances on which this happened, do not know the horse or the horses experience level-is hurtful and distasteful. Sometimes we need to fight against things we are passionate about through compromise, understanding and willingness to discuss
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From me clicking around online it looks like the same combo was on the course in June, and I saw GoPro footage of someone running that course online. It didn’t seem like an overly difficult training ask, in my opinion, although I’m not a fan of open oxers on XC. ETA: this is just from what I can tell, I’m not certain jumps were not moved/changed. Also it was not an open oxer, it was an airy skinny triple log stack.
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Who was the TD?
I wonder if there is a way for members of the USEA to push for more transparency when it comes to horse / rider deaths and injuries. I can’t help but wonder if there would be less speculation about events if there was an official report?
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I don’t know. Someone mentioned upthread that riders were not happy with that combination.
FWIW, the TD is listed in the USEA Omnibus for the event, which you can Google or find on the USEA website.
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It’s a membership organisation. Members need to speak up about their concerns. If the organisation doesn’t respond, shout more loudly!
The FEI collects and collates data from every FEI Event held around the world. Each member nation is obliged to send this information in to HQ. National bodies are not obliged to publish their data and very few do so. FEI starred levels are the same dimension as national ones or national ones are the same as FEI once above the very lowest levels. FEI isn’t harder than national events except in the riders’ minds. Fence type or design is affected and influenced by this annual data. There is a whole document about fence design on the FEI website, if you look hard enough (not the friendliest website ever).
BE collects data at each Event, with measurements carried out at each fence and fall report forms filled out by the Fence Judges immediately after an incident at their fence. This form goes into detail such as weather, terrain, what part of the horse hit the fence, tack on the horse, was the rider wearing an air vest, was the rider going too fast, too slow, under the influence of alcohol… Two sides of A4 tick boxes and written description to be filled in between horses running past every two minutes is a damned nuisance. A form also has to be completed by the if a rider comes off on the flat between jumps. The forms are entered onto a central database at the end of the day by the TD. A Safety Report is published each year and is available on the BE website under “Health and Safety”. BE annual meetings can get very heated and extra meetings are called to deal with specific issues that members are up in arms about.
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@Blugal and @Willesdon - So the document posted up thread includes stats provided by USEA to FEI for all USEF/USEA events each year? And not just FEI events?
What I was hoping to find was stats for all recognized events in the U.S., broken down by level. In other words, something like this:
Why can’t USEA publish those kind of stats? Do they compile them but not make them available to the membership? If so, why not? Are they concerned about backlash from the membership and/or the general public?
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Ive read through this thread bemusedly, although most of the discussion is important, I Thought I would point out that Endless’ increasingly aggressive comments are not based on any first hand, or even second hand, knowledge of the sport. Apparently.
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Apparently. I couldn’t possibly be involved in other ways, be surrounded by eventing barns, train with an eventing trainer, or be able to say “yup, that there is another needless fatality.”
Apparently.
I apparently can’t be frustrated by the fact that if you scroll back YEARS in this thread, the same.exact.things. were being discussed, yet it continues to happen with “thoughts and prayers” from the community, while they enter their next event.
Apparently that amuses you.
To each their own, I guess.
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I watched a bit of the risk management session at the 2023 Eventing Forum (link posted upthread).
There were several really interesting slides, including this one:
As others have mentioned, falls - including rotational - have been decreasing. There were a few years where there were upticks but the general trend is downward. So APPARENTLY improvements are being made in fence and course design, preparedness of horse and rider, and rider decisions.
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You are directing your anger at the wrong group by making us the pack-mules of your vitriol. Everyone in this thread wants Eventing to be safer, and I’d venture to say that many people in this thread have taken pains to do their part; by writing to USEF, by speaking out, by asking the hard questions, by selecting their events wisely or choosing to go unsanctioned.
Direct your anger at USEA & USEF. Yes, Eventing has become safer in recent years. Yes, there is still a long way to go.
Despite what you may think, it is not a “simple” fix. I’m assuming by your posts in this thread, you have already written to USEF with your concerns.
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@DownYonder I don’t know the answers to your questions. I’m Canadian, so another step removed.
However, you can email Jon Holling, the USEA’s National Safety Officer, and ask him directly.
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Thanks, I’m not a USEA member so I doubt he would answer me. Perhaps someone who IS a member will put this question to him. 
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Wow. Thank you for posting this. The rotational data, in particular, is really notable. Frangible technology is designed to prevent rotational falls (not horse falls necessarily), and you can really see the impact of its introduction and more widespread use on the statistics. Long may it continue!
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This excerpt was on another slide from the risk management session at the 2023 Eventing Forum. I highlighted the part that I found particularly impressive - it certainly does drive home the fact that jump technology and design are playing a very important role in reducing the incidence of rotational falls.
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Did you even read what AMWookey posted? You should. They are one of the few people responding to you who had something nice to say. You might consider backing off. You are near eventing barns, you train with an eventing trainer. None of that makes you prepared to dig in the way you have. You haven’t responded to any of my posts, so I guess you have me blocked. Or maybe because you can’t refute my logic. Fine, but please read what AMWookey posted.
I don’t find anything about your nasty posts toward the human in this incident amusing. Quite the contrary. A little introspection could go a long way.
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Quoting the entire post from AMWookey so that it doesnt get lost.
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