But poor Karen didn't compete on her other horse, Hugh Knows, who was held at this morning's trot-up. She decided not to re-present him; he had a heel grab and a bruise. Two other horses, Bonner Carpenter's Acapulco Jazz and Waylon Roberts' Paleface were spun before thousands of knowledgeable spectators who cheered when someone was passed, and sympathized when they were not. In the end, 27 of 41 starters finished the event. Rolex is tough, no doubt about it.
-
- Laine Ashker and Frodo Baggins as they finished the dressage on Friday.
- © 2008 by Nancy Jaffer
And now I get to the sad part of my story. You know from yesterday's piece that Frodo Baggins, the adorable black New Zealand-bred gelding who was in the first Lord of the Rings movie, had to be put down after somersaulting at the fifth fence on cross-country. His injuries included a fractured skull and lung damage. His owner/rider, Laine Ashker, is still in the intensive care unit of the hospital with a broken jaw, ribs and collarbone as well as collapsed lungs. She is expected to recover.
Then this morning, we heard that Sarah Hansel's horse, The Quiet Man, who fell at the 13th fence, the wide footbridge, was destroyed after an evaluation showed a badly broken right shoulder. The prognosis was very poor for both horses, and their owners didn't want them to suffer, so they made the only decision they could. Sarah wound up with only minor injuries and was released from the hospital after a check-up.
But these are just the latest in a series of hideous misfortunes that have struck eventing in 2006 and 2007. Ironically Laine's first ride cross-country, was a double-clear she turned in on Mazzetto. His owner was killed in an event last fall, part of the chain of unfortunate events that have cast a cloud over the sport.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Eventing Association are trying to figure out what's going wrong and how to fix it. Sometimes, though, there's just a "miss" on the way to the jump.
I discussed this with USEF President David O'Connor, an Olympic individual gold medalist, when we talked about Laine's accident this morning, and here is what he said:
Listen: David O'Connor discusses Laine Ashker's accident
There are many aspects to eventing's problems, but looking at the big picture, it's obvious that whatever solutions are developed, they won't always work. It's a risk sport, like so many others, including racing. When an animal is involved, it makes the situation more difficult than if it is just something dangerous--like mountain climbing or auto racing--that a human does on his or her own.
I asked David for his thoughts on that:
Listen: David O'Connor discusses risk
The eventing world has a lot to consider, and I know discussions already are under way to make things as safe as possible.
We'll see how it goes in two weeks, when I head for the Jersey Fresh 3-star. I hope this event and everyone in it has smooth sailing. I don't want to write another sad report.
Check out our 2008 Rolex Kentucky Photo Gallery available online.
Until then,
