The cross-country day was "a disaster" as a friend put it. I was there with my camcorder and by chance captured footage of two bad incidents, both at fence 15, the double corners. Kelly Sult and Hollywood took the second corner badly, and possibly were saved by the franginble pin(s). They went on to finish the course, amazingly. At Kristi Nunnick and R-Star fell at the first corner; R-Star was fine, Kristi was taken away in an ambulance, but I hear she is okay. The accidents seemed similar to me, but the pins only worked for Sult. WARNING: This is tough footage to watch. Take a look if you want to see and compare the falls (Sult/Hollywood first, Nunnick/R-Star second). For better or worse, the footage is pretty clear...
UPDATE: At the request of Interested Parties, this footage of two bad moments at Rolex will be/have been removed as of 5/4. I figured our days were numbered when I posted it, but can I admit to being fascinated by this sort of footage? I watched all the tsunami and quake documentaries till my husband drew a line in the sand and said "no more." This is just one more manifestation of that behavior quirk, plus I do think it is educational/informative for people to see what can go wrong, and how it goes wrong. No doubt it is at the expense of the subject, and I can understand someone lodging a complaint...
That said, here is a link to some photos on Lucy's Quest blog, and here are some photos from Katrina Zimmer:
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Kristi rides in my area and I see her riding often. Quite honestly, she is not fit enough or finessed enough to be riding that horse. She quite regularly has moments like this on XC. I would love to see Kim Severson on the mare, who has a nice balance of strength and softness in her riding. Kristi gets in fights with the mare and then forgets to give the mare her head back once the balance has been achieved. It is hard to jump when you're choking.
ReplyDeleteR-star shows remarkable calm after the fall. Her reins seem to be tangled in her legs, but she doesn't panic. I am sure that she was stunned, but still managed to move away from her rider. Are four-star horses taught how to handle a fall? She was a champ.
ReplyDeleteWe were right there for the fall of William Coleman and Twizzel. Really it was exactly the same as Kristi Nunnink. It's like Twizzel didn't realize the jump was a triangle and his legs got caught. Scary jump thats for sure.
ReplyDeleteI kinda disagree with Suzie about Kristi 'not being fit enough'... clearly all those riders are fit enough to be able to ride their horses well enough to make it in to Rolex. That jump was so hard, many falls and many MANY run outs. I don't think the "Double Corners" was a failed jump due to being fit. Just my opinion though! :)
These wrecks are disturbing, but certainly not unexpected. Seems like corner jumps are often "missed" in the way of the first footage. Like, they were too far to the right. In the second, seems like a different situation: R-Star took a stutter step and her R front did not come up in time, causing the semi-rotational fall. But I would have expected the pins to go. They definitely helped the first horse avoid injury.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, why did your friend use the word "disaster?" Were there many more accidents?
Thanks for posting this and keeping us up to date! Very glad both these teams are ok.
To say that cross country day was a disaster is taking it way too far. No serious injuries to horse or human, no deaths, sorry but today was an excellent day for eventing. Kristi has a broken arm, and with that being the most serious injury of the day speaks volumes to the skill of the riders, the course designer and the Rolex crew. Sometimes it seems that people want to become hysterical no matter what happens. Eventing is dangerous. Get over it.
ReplyDeleteThe first rider was very lucky. The first fence was bad and while things happen so fast on xc, the decision to continue on to the second did not look good. Corner combinations generally have an alternate route. I don't know if that was true this time.
ReplyDeleteI hope the frangible pins did not malfunction on the second horse. But they are designed only to break when hit directly with xx amount of force, to prevent a rotational fall. Since the horse slithered over at a bit of an angle maybe the force wasn't enough.
Glad to hear the rider is ok.
I agree with Val, R Star handled that fall as well as any horse could. Still, very scary...I'm so glad it sounds like everyone is ok.
ReplyDeleteI just missed the first accident and did see Kristi's fall. I do hope she is OK, as I was wondering about her shoulder/arm on the side she fell. R-Star did look OK afterwards, but again, were it my horse, I would have a thorough vet inspection done just to be sure.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Val that the mare was a champion about not running off and staying calm like that.
Was it Tiana Coudry who went off at the farmyard hay bale thingie? Looked to me as if she had one of those inflatable safety vests on. If so, I think it did its job as she was really puffed up as she walked off the course.
All in all, from what I saw, horses and riders seemed to handle the course well, but it certainly did look difficult. Big jumps certainly, but lots of tricky turns, approaches and combos.
Ugh. I see a broken shoulder in her future, or present really.
ReplyDeleteMy instructor always drummed in to me that you never muck around with the horse in the last 3 strides before the jump, which Kristi clearly was. Glad neither were seriously injured!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Neither horse even came close to clearing their legs over that second higher pole.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen wonky corner jumps like this before. What's the point? Who came up with the idea?
I'm impressed with both horses, especially R Star for not freaking out after the stumble or fall. Good R Star for backing away from her fallen rider, too.
Good video coverage by the way. I could almost feel the power of R Star's crash to the ground...was kind of like PS2's vibrating PS2 Controllers. lol!
~Lisa
I can't help but think, Why have jumps like these in the first place? Eventing horses are so bold, so willing, but why do something so risky?
ReplyDeleteI was there for the first stumble over. I was actually looking for myself and 3 daughters in the video because we were almost directly at the angle you are pointing when going over the first corner jump. I got a different angle of video. Just as she made the turn she went out of veiw but I could see the white of her penny falling forward. Then I heard the jump judge say, "she cleared the jump but broke it". I thought how is that even possible. Then the next rider on course had to be held up while they fixed the jump. Now that would be frustrating. But I wouldn't call the day a disaster. Eventing is dangerous and all those rider know the risks going into it and the horses though they don't choose to do it obviously have a heart and passion to do it. We cannot forego dreams because we "may" get hurt. We are more likely to get hurt driving to work or the grocery store. We have to live our lives and what a way to live them, with drive, ambition and passion. Doing a completely awesome and beautiful sport! I think over all the day was a success and like everything I am sure there are lessons and things we can improve on in everything we do.
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE R-star's composure after the fall!
I agree with the rest that R Star should be getting a large bouquet of carrots this evening for how gently she treated her fallen rider. good pony!
ReplyDeleteAshley: Yes, these riders should be fit enough at this level, but that doesn't mean all of them are. After seeing them at the 3*, she was obviously tired and at Twin, she was struggling as well. She is older with a small stature and R Star is a very strong horse.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much experience you have eventing, but at the end of a three day XC course, the horse's mouth is harder and requires more "carry" to maintain the same balance the second half of the course compared to the first have. While the mare is athletic, combine horse fatigue with unforgiving hands and this is what you get.
I was trying to figure out why I know Kristi Nunnink's name, since I don't really follow eventing these days, and then I remembered she's the one being sued over the death of a student. The facts of that case are obviously in dispute, but one thing that seems clear is that the student had no business being on course at all that day, after a history of two rotational falls in one season, and the third such fall killed her. So I respectfully disagree with Ashley that simply making it to that level of competition is proof of the rider/horse combo being good enough to be safe at that level of competition. Eventers can and do end up doing things they have no business doing, and this is not a person with a history of good judgment about qualifications.
ReplyDeleteR-Star is a very talented and wonderful horse. Kristi is very futsy and enthusiastic. But she has many dangerous falls and near falls in the past. Her fitness compared to her guts? The guts is much more higher. However she had a crashing and painful fall at Rolex last year. Rolex does not seem to be her success ground.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason the pins didn't break on the second shot was that there wasn't enough force applied in the right way. I read somewhere that frangible pins are designed to break when the horse hits the rail with his chest, like in the first shot. In the second shot the horse's left foreleg got caught, causing the rotation, but not applying the correct type of force for the pins to break.
ReplyDeleteI heard from a fellow rider that Kristi had a hip replacement scheduled for tomorrow. Who would go to Rolex knowing they needed a hip replacement???
ReplyDeleteI can't get over R-Star. Such a good horse! It looks like her leg was caught badly on the fence. I hope she's okay.
ReplyDeleteThose of you who event, I admire you. The thought of it terrifies me.