If you can't do it, don't try

The New York Times ran a story on the front page the other days about the riding death rate in Eventing. Coming from a horseback rider, I can confidently say that Eventing is completely insane. Eventing is a series of competitions, usually taking place over two or three days where competitors perform three different types of riding. Now, mastering one type of riding is hard enough so it's pretty amazing that these people can do this. Events one and two are show jumping and dressage, both of which take place in a ring and are generally not timed. The last event is cross country jumping.

Phil Sears/Associated Press, The New York Times

As far as I'm concerned you have to be totally cracked to attempt this. However, people obviously don't agree with me. The cross-country courses can run for miles over uneven terrain and include up to 40 jumps meant to immitate "natural conditions." The problem lately, is that even coordinators have been raising the difficultly of these courses to the point where some have argued that even the best in the world can't handle them. The deaths of 12 eventing riders in the past 18 months has raised concerns over the sport.

Some safety measures have been discussed, but for the most part are not used. Pins have been designed to help the jumps collapse if the horse does not clear them, but the pins are expensive and generally not used.






“It’s not galloping cross-country over natural obstacles anymore,” said Ilana Gareen, an amateur rider and assistant professor of community health at Brown in the New York Times article. “I liked the fact that you could go to eventing and just be a good rider, do well, and have fun.”


Some have argued that the excitement of the contest has attracted inexperienced and riders who are not ready for the intensity of the course.


“You have people who didn’t grow up fox hunting or going on wild rides the way we did,” said Mick Costello, an event rider who builds cross-country courses, to the New York Times. “They haven’t been used to tumbling falls. They get a thrill out of going fast, and a lot of them aren’t ready.”


While this is very likely true, the deaths and injuries of some of the best riders in the world may indicate other issues.

Last month an Olympic bronze medalist was nearly killed when his horse didn't clear a jump and somersaulted over onto the rider.


According to the Times: In a letter to members, Kevin Baumgardner, the president of the United States Eventing Association, wrote: “The overall trends, particularly over the last three years, are unmistakable and, in my view, totally unacceptable. I know that my concern that the sport has gotten off track is shared by many of our members, amateurs and professionals alike.”

Charles Mann/cmannphoto.com, The New York Times