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This past weekend at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day, Laine Ashker suffered a serious fall during the cross-country stage of the competition. She is currently in critical condition at the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington. Laine's horse and another involved in a separate accident had to be euthanized.

These accidents come just a month after Darren Chiacchia, an Olympic rider, had a serious fall at an event in Tallahassee, Florida. They also come in the wake of a recent article in the New York Times about 15 rider fatalities in cross country that have occurred worldwide over the last two years.

These accidents have hit us hard in the sport of eventing - we are all riders who care deeply about the horses, their welfare and the image of the sport. For us, the issue is also a personal one.

This spate of accidents has raised important and potentially troubling questions for those of us who govern the sport: Why are so many riders and horses having accidents? Is there more that can be done to make cross country safer? Is the sport just too dangerous?

There is no question that eventing is a demanding and yes, risky sport. Riders cross undulating terrain at high speed and jump a series of challenging fences - all while atop a 1,000 pound horse. So there is a constant need for us to ensure that every precaution is being taken to reduce the risk of injury to riders and horses.

Although we have implemented several measures to improve safety over the last year, clearly more needs to be done. In the coming days and weeks, we will be redoubling our efforts to identify additional steps we can take to make sure that riders and horses can compete as safely as possible. We would like to ask your help in this effort - whether you're a rider, trainer, coach, veterinarian, or simply a horse enthusiast.

We invite each and every one of you to the USEF/USEA Safety Summit to be held in Lexington, KY June 7-8. We will break the issue of safety down and examine the causes and potential solutions with some of the best minds in the game. In the meantime, if you have immediate thoughts about how we can improve the safety of cross country, please email them to us at: safetythoughts@usef.org and/or safety@useventing.com.

Over the last few days, we have received emails from people who were at the Rolex event over the weekend and were disturbed by what they saw. They are asking hard questions of us and questioning whether they should continue to support the sport of eventing. To them and to you, we want to say that we too are disturbed by what we see. No matter how much we tell ourselves that injury is a part of our sport, it is always traumatizing to see a horse fall.

Therefore, we are working closely with FEI to do whatever we can to better protect riders and horses and to repair the public image of our sport. We are proposing today that within the U.S. the following five initiatives be put into effect:

If a horse has a rotational fall, horse and rider are suspended from competing for three or six months.

If a horse has a rotational fall, horse and rider lose their qualification at the level at which they are competing.

If a rider falls off on the course they are eliminated.

Open oxers on courses at every level are made frangible.

If a horse falls related to a jump both horse and rider are suspended from competing for one month.

We don't have all the answers, we are deeply concerned about what is going on in the sport of eventing and we need your help.

Sincerely,

David O'Connor, USEF President
Kevin Baumgardner, USEA President

Contact Information of the Sender
United States Eventing Association
Old Waterford Road, NW
Leesburg, VA 20176
703-779-0440

(David O'Connor (left), President of the US Equestrian Federation and Coach of the Canadian Eventing Team and Mike Winter discuss Mike's Rolex Kentucky Dressage ride.)

Editorial Comment:

The above suggestions in the letter from David O'Connor and Kevin Baumgardner s (with the exclusion of making open oxers frangible at every level) certainly win the "Closing the Barn Door After the Horse Has been Stolen Prize for May, 2008!"

WOW! It is certainly going to do a lot of good to suspend Laine Ashker for from three to six months!

Understandably, O'Connor and Baumgardner probably had to say something. Nonetheless, their suggestions need to be carefully considered in an unemotional manner before they are put into effect.

Added Friday, May 2, at 8:00 AM EDST:

Additionally, there is the question of due process. Can a horse and/or a rider be suspended for up to six months without a hearing - a chance to defend themselves? Can a horse or rider lose its qualification at the level at which they are competing without a hearing - a chance to defend themselves?

The question of a rider falling off on course being eliminated - suppose it is between fences? Suppose the rider dismounts to adjust tack?

End of addition.

In any case, they would not apply to competitions such as Rolex Kentucky, Jersey Fresh, Fair Hill, et al, as these competitions are run under FEI rules. It would take a great deal of arm twisting to pursuade the FEI that such rules might be necessary. (-and of course there is the problem of whether a given horse fall is or is not "rotational").

The problem at Rolex lay with the course being too easy and the time being relatively easy to make. The first four horses all ran double clears on Saturday morning. Theodore O'Connor, a pony; Woodburn; Mazetto, Laine Ashker's first horse of two; and Neville Bardos. By the lunch break, nine horses had run double clears. The first horse to go after the lunch break, Tipperary Liadhnan, ran a double clear.

The die was cast! (Thanks to Beth Collier for correcting my use of the word "dye" - as in coloring - when I should have use "die", as in one of a pair of dice or as in any of various devices used for cutting out, forming or stamping material especially an engraved metal piece used for impressing a design upon a softer metal, as in coining money.) Every rider in the afternoon knew that in order to be competative they had to run a double clear. It is very likely that knowing this caused afternoon riders to press their horses beyond their natural abilities.

SPEED KILLS!

This reporter has the greatest respect for the Course Designer at Rolex - Michael Ethrington Smith. He is one of the best in the world, if not the best! Nonetheless, there was so much talk and such an uproar over Darren Chiacchia's fall at Tallahassee last winter that Ethrington-Smith had to have been influenced, even if sub-consciously.

How many times do the cry babies have to be reminded that riding is a risk sport? Everyone who rides regularly and competes in Show Jumping, the Hunter divisions, Eventing and Steeplechasing must expect to be injured at some time during their careers. Horses fall and can be injured and sometimes killed. If competitors and whiners don't realize this, they are just not being realistic.

Skiers injure knees and sometimes are killed, when they hit trees. Football players injure knees and break other bones regularly. Riders frequently break collar bones and other portions of their anatomy. It's part of the game. Skiing is a high risk sport. Football is a high risk sport. Steeplechasing and Eventing are a high risk sports.

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!

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Below are two readers' thoughts on the above Editorial Commentary as e-mailed to the Editor:

Hello.

I was very disturbed by your comments in response to the letter that David O Connor and Kevin Baumgardner wrote. There is enough problems going on with eventing right now and to call people "cry babies" is inappropriate. I was friends with Mia Erickkson who died at Galway and it was a devastating experience for everyone. To say that the problems at Rolex were cause by the riders trying to make time is totally insensitive. Laine is in the hospital and you should be sending your best wishes to her instead of blaming her for going to fast. It seems as you are talking about the situation at Rolex in a joking matter and it is horrible. Just wanted to share my thoughts. (feel free to publish, im sure others feel the same way)

Lauren Whitlock

I admire your strength in writing your opinions of the belated actions of David O'Connor and Kevin. Clearly if you read the comments made by our "officials" (and I would refer you to their earlier statements made both on USEF and US Dressage sites) you will see much finger pointing but very little in the way of real safety changes or decisions. I, along with many other hope for changes. They are critically needed.

Karan Eriksson, Mother of Mia Eriksson, killed at Galoway CCI ** Nov 2007.