February 18, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
Eventing Dangers
Zara Phillips, the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, won the 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award with a third of the public vote. I thought that this was a well deserved award as she is only the third eventing rider to hold both World and European titles at the same time. However there was some criticism of the award as this is a minority sport and she is a member of the Royal family. Her mother won the same award in 1971 after becoming European champion.
Days before the World Equestrian Games, a friend had died from an eventing fall and it was reported that Zara had promised to win gold as a tribute to her friend.
The risk of three day eventing was highlighted with the death of a South Korean rider in the Asian Games in Qatar in late 2006. Both horse and rider were experienced, winning silver at the last Asian Games.
There are also risks with showjumping. Professional UK showjumper Nick Charles is recovering from a broken neck after a recent fall at a show. He was operated on by a top spinal injuries surgeon and should make a full recovery. I remember watching a TV program about Stoke Mandeville Hospital which has a major spinal unit and the three major causes of serious spinal injury were from diving into shallow swimming pools, horse riding accidents and rugby injuries.
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3 Responses to “Eventing Dangers”
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March 1st, 2007 at 4:05 pm
It makes one wonder what are the statistics of injuries to riders and to horses? The injured riders seem to make the news. But what about horses that are killed or injured. The riders have an array of modern safety equipment, whilst the horse has little protection against injury.
March 3rd, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I believe there are very limited statistics available on horse or rider injuries, whether this be during competitions or road-related accidents.
In eventing, I think most riders are killed when the horse hits the fence and falls onto the rider on the landing side of the fence. While the horses are often injured during such heavy falls, I think they are not usually fatal.
August 6th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
There is a solid debate going on regarding the Safety of Eventing now that there have been 8 deaths this year 2006-2007. Read more at eventing.zzn.com