I’m sure there are specifics reasons why this log wasn’t pinned, but probably not laziness
I am not an eventer but I would think that in this case the rider and horse were quite experienced and a frangible pin may have saved her life.
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What kinds of reasons could those be?
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Just my opinion… It was a combination fence, so required impulsion rather than speed, the element 5B was easy for a horse to read, it had a straight approach, in good light, it had a wide face, which is far more forgiving than a skinny, and a log naturally has a round profile to allow a horse to safely slide over if something goes amiss. So, with those factors, a pin was probably deemed unnecessary. The forgiving profile is why logs are so frequently used for jumps in association with water. Badminton this year had a white upright into the lake which was pinned. The alternative was not.
Sometimes a tragic accident is just that, a tragic accident. The horse walked away unharmed.
There will be detailed analysis of what happened and why, not just by British Eventing but also by the e.g. the coroner and the insurance companies. We await more information once there has been time to do the investigation. Presently we are all speculating.
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I don’t know how it works in the UK legal system but in the US, there’s an ongoing lawsuit related to an obstacle that was not properly fixed. It was in the water so it wasn’t staked but there’s a procedure for weighting a jump (involves gravel at the base) that wasn’t followed with this jump. Accident ensued.
Not sure of all the parties named in the suit other than the designer but I would think it extends to the facility, organizer, TD, etc.
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I’m definitely not educated or trained in the specific building of these but I do know it isn’t as simple as a choosing to pin it or not, not all of them can be. Size, weight and diameter of the log would definitely impact that decision. This log looks quite big and fat to me, qualities that would make the jump itself more inviting and friendly and a forgiving shape rather than something skinny and airy but would affect its ability to be Frangible because it is too heavy
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All obstacles must be correctly secured before the course is opened for jumping. Part of the pre-competition inspection. The UK Pony Club had a tragedy several years ago because a fence moved when it was knocked and it caused the pony to fall.
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Pins are a PITA. Ask any course builder.
Pins can also be labor-intensive as you need your skilled resources on-hand to reset if necessary. At the Kentucky event, I know this was a concern at one of the early fences, I think 4, which required some of the builder guys to hang out at the fence in their trucks.
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Specifically speaking about Georgie Campbell (nee Strang), I don’t think lack of rider or horse preparation can be pointed to, from their records. (I wasn’t there in person so I cannot say what actually happened in the moment.)
She is a very experienced rider: has ridden at FEI level since she was 17, got a ton of experience riding Master Monarch for 2 years after Andrew Hoy, and has ridden Global Quest its entire FEI career since 2019, at 4* level since 2022. She has MERS: 16 at 2*, 23 at 3*, 9 at 4*.
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This is Georgie’s bio from Badminton in 2018.
https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/biography/2018/georgie-strang/
If you think there’s something she could have done better to prepare herself, please let the rest of us know.
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There were also some 50 entries in this division that did complete the XC on Sunday & presumably this fence (no alternative) without disaster.
https://www.eventingscores.link/uploads/events/2193/results_2193_53514.html?eventid=2193
I do remember back in the '90s an article/discussion in one of the US/CAN horse/eventing magazines with a chap who did motocross/stunt motorcycle work or the like (maybe also rode horses?) but the emphasis was that the rider cannot (& must not) take the same fall as the bike/horse–that even being slightly off-centre in the fall could save you. I remember it being in context of a downhill approach which was considered an increased risk? Being super tight in the tack likely works against you with a horse fall.
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You are correct - the frangible pin was designed to break the trajectory of the horse/rider so that they weren’t rotating together, so to speak. The downward fall of the log/jump/element would change the trajectory of the horse so that - hopefully - it wouldn’t crush the rider.
Motorcycle falls don’t have a lot in common with horse falls except that both are not desirable.
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Agreed–which is why I said the chap was a stunt rider or the like–crashes were somewhat deliberate/expected (perhaps from film industry) and in the process he had to ensure taking a separate trajectory .
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According to this article, the fence has been there for 5 years, according to a quote from William Fox-Pitt:
“The fence she fell at has been there five years and jumped hundreds of times, I should think almost without incident. It asks a horse a very fair question and it was unbelievably unlucky it didn’t work out but, for whatever reason, horses can occasionally misjudge the simplest of fences.”
Curiously, the article mentions frangible pins, but does not address their presence or absence on this fence.
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To me this log isn’t big enough to be un-pinable. True, also, that it looks bigger than most pinned logs. Maybe they were going for something medium and figured there was enough ambiguity about it to call it either way, and they called the non pinning way.
Remember last year(?) when WFP expressed concern about a jump on the direct route at I think Burley? They didn’t change the jump after he voiced his concern. I recall he then advocated that riders take the long route to avoid it—and if they all did the same long route, no one would be harmed by any time penalties. Sure enough though, some, if not many, riders took the direct route. No one fell at the jump, but that doesn’t mean it was safe. If a legend like WFP can’t get a jump changed or riders to follow his example, what hope does any other rider have to speak out? I have no idea if anyone was concerned about this jump at Bicton; my comment is directed to the problem of expecting riders to advocate for themselves.
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The log into the water that WFP was concerned about was pinned, they didn’t think it should have been was the issue
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Despite hundreds going over it without incident, this situation only further cements my personal opinion that logs with open faces going into water need frangible pins every time. Water questions naturally compel horses to be conservative over the effort (even if it’s a dry landing) - it backs off a horse, and when they go wrong, they go very, very wrong.
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I guess the problem is if someone deems something reasonably “safe” there is no need to change it because the safety measures would cost time/money/energy that people just don’t want to spend. And then we have incidents like these with an experienced rider and a jump deemed “safe” and yet the fall was fatal. What would it take to put pins in jumps we think are “safe”? How many accidents would they mitigate? Who gets to decide if a jump is “safe enough” or not when, in reality, this can happen at any fence?
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That article was heartbreaking. So very sad.
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