I’ve been around long enough to remember when The Coffin at Ledyard was the biggest, scary fence challenging horses and riders. Things have really changed. While I admire the skill and athleticism of today’s eventers and their incredible horses, I don’t think anyone should be putting a horse in a situation where the fences are so enormous and technically challenging that a small mistake can cause death to both horse and rider. I know riding is inherently dangerous, but at what. point do we take a moment to assess just where this is going and what we are asking of our animals?
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I’m literally only addressing non horsey media picking up the pretty white woman dying.
Were this an unattractive latino guy… it won’t grace the same covers.
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I’m a little behind that time, but I’ve seen plenty of video of it and was around for the heyday of Area 1. Frankly, the courses of yesteryear were absolutely terrifying, as was the XC riding and the way horses were treated (finish at all costs). People and horses were hurt all the time, there just wasn’t the internet and social media for everyone to hear about it immediately. Today, we have course designers like Derek DiGrazia making courses that are immensely safer than they’ve ever been, while still making XC consequential score-wise.
Someone upthread mentioned Wofford’s commentary that people are spending too much time doing dressage which makes them worse at XC, and also that horses don’t develop a sense of self-preservation. I wholeheartedly disagree. The XC and showjumping riding at the top levels is eons better than it was even 20 years ago, never mind 40+ years ago.
At the end of the day, XC is dangerous. Riding horses is dangerous. There’s a lot more that can be done to make it safer, like using good course designers and more frangible pins but it’s a hell of a lot safer than it ever has been.
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A well known British event influencer actually commented on that post by Eventing Nation that she’d take a day or so of not posting but it’s tricky when it’s your job! Imagine justifying why you can’t respect someone’s death because you are far too important! People have lost the run of themselves on Social Media, the world won’t stop if you don’t make a stupid insta post tagging a few feed and tack companies. She’s taken her comment off now and rightly so.
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Who was that?
Posting on social media doesn’t mean you don’t respect someone’s death.
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A Social Media Influencer is usually about themself and is much different than just a post on social media.
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We all deal with death in different ways, a social media influencers choice about posting or not posting does not show disrespect either way.
EN choice is their way of respect, and I can appreciate their choice without thinking everyone else has to get in line. There are more important things to discuss.
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Yeah I don’t understand why this is even being brought up.
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While I understand and agree, their lives go on and the horses need to stay in training and competition. I wish they wouldn’t post about it for a bit but they may also have sponsors that have requirements for how often they post and what the content is that they need to uphold to maintain their sponsorships.
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Very well said.
Let people deal with death their way without being judged for not doing it your way.
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Tilly Berendt from EN here. Just wanted to share our two cents on the social media situation, which is, in effect, that we made the decision we made because it was what we felt was right for us as a team. We made the call and then the subsequent post without any expectation that others would follow suit, and certainly without any notions that anyone else’s choice to post or not post would be some reflection on their processing and grief. At some point, all of us will have to return to something akin to normality, and everyone’s time frame for that is different, and influenced in countless different ways, many of which none of us are privy to.
My hope is only this: that everyone finds their own pathway to something like peace, and that on the other side of that, all of us who are able to contribute to the ongoing work done to improve safety in our sport do so.
In the long final hour before the news was confirmed to those of us at Bicton, I had a long conversation with Lucinda Green on the nuances of safety – a conversation that was being had mostly, if I’m honest, to fill the horrendous static in the air and make us both feel like we were doing something, anything at all. But both of us landed on the same point: if there was one singular hot-button answer to the problem, we would have found it by now. It is a complex web of problems to solve – some of which are easier and more obvious than others – but that push to unpack the thornier, trickier, more elusive answers cannot end. And I am confident that it will not end. It matters far too much to all of us, and nobody within this sport ever wants to see a day like Sunday – or so many of the other dark days eventing has experienced – ever again.
Tilly x
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Re: the social media aspect–we always have to remember that for every tragic event with a prominent and beloved rider like this, there are always people who have lost individuals in similar ways who are just ordinary folk (many of whom have been talked about in this post) and who had to see competitive life going on, much as it might pain them.
There is certainly nothing wrong and a great deal commendable about “reading the social media room” and not posting, but on the other hand, choosing to post or choosing a different way to honor the deceased shouldn’t be read as not caring (especially if there wasn’t a personal connection).
More importantly, I think why this was so shaking for lots of people (besides the fact that the rider was such a fixture in the community) was she was so skilled and prepared and this was an experienced combination. It’s only natural to want to fixate on one thing that could have been done to prevent it.
I disagree that riding “way back when” was safer, though–I posted it a long time ago, but there is a video of a competitive event from the 90s and while there’s some great riding, it’s not like it was a walk in the park (plus less effective safety gear and people remounting after falls).
I’m not an expert on safety or an UL rider so I am not going to point any fingers, but I also do think this is one of those incidents where the level of risk involved at riding at this level is most clearly exposed, and the limits for safety technology to improve things.
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I agree with this, and I think it’s worth mentioning that a lot of people also view social media as an important source of community. It’s not all frivolous, and it can foster real discussions and relationships for some people. Everyone uses it differently and no way is more right than another. And yes, that includes people who make money off of it - asking people to forego income for a few days is a bit much IMO, but everyone gets to make that choice for themselves. I doubt Georgie’s family is paying much attention to what strangers are posting on Instagram right now, aside from maybe drawing comfort from the condolences and memories being shared, so insisting people post or not post as a gesture of “respect” rings hollow to me either way. People should grieve the way that works best for them. I hope that those who are serious about supporting the family are also doing so in tangible ways beyond social media, whether that’s reaching out directly for those who know the family well, continuing to drive conversations on safety like EN and the other major outlets have been doing for a while now, or just trying to make safe choices ourselves and honoring Georgie’s memory.
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This deserves to be read a second time.
As does this.
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You made the right decision.
Many social media influencers have contracts which require them to post X amounts of times a week, or have pre-scheduled posting obligations. They can be in conjunction with the launch of a new product, or timed by the company for any other reason.
I can feel your disdain for that line of employment, but regardless of your personal feelings that “stupid insta post” is their income. I don’t think someone needs to forgo working or breach a contract to respect someone’s death.
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I am not an eventer, although my best friend from childhood is, and has represented my country in international competition.
I have respect for the discipline, but it isn’t something I could do, even at BN levels. I don’t have the stomach for it and can barely even watch it, if I am honest. That said, the video you posted really underscores the advances that the sport has made. I was absolutely shocked at the remounting after horse falls.
For me, what is shocking to the core is that this pair was so seasoned. What frustrates further is that the fence in question seems not to have been equipped with frangibles, when maybe it could have been.
I don’t even play in the eventing arena, so I won’t pretend to know what conversations are taking place. But, I do hope that this incident will prove a sea change for the sport.
In the end, she was a beautiful rider and horseman and her loss is utterly tragic.
I just hope that there is something to be learned from this.
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Statement from Jesse.
https://www.facebook.com/share/7PmMMEQbBPnXFC6a/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Seems like he would like people to move on with their lives like Georgie did with hers - with light and open arms. Having met her a few times, she was indeed a very bright soul, and I will try to be more like her every day.
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Copying Jesse’s post for those who don’t use FB because it is so beautiful and heartbreaking:
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