PrintIn 2005, Kristin Schmolze and Cavaldi placed 12th at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, an impressive finish for this pair of four-star novices. Schmolze was on top of the world—she’d won the U.S. Eventing Association’s Young Rider of the Year award in 2003 and seemed to be going from strength to strength.
But, as we know with horses, what goes up must come down. Schmolze fell off at Rolex Kentucky in 2007 and then Cavaldi suffered a broken coffin bone and Kristin broke her collarbone in 2008, which put them out of competition for the next year.
This spring, after putting in the time to come back sound and strong, Kristin and Cavaldi (Joey to his friends) showed Rolex Kentucky they weren’t done with it yet. Good thing that with horses, what goes down will also come back up!
Q. How did you and Cavaldi both end up with broken bones?
A. That was in 2008 and basically it happened at one of the first jump schools at the end of January. We landed off a fence, and Joey broke a bone in his hind foot. It was crazy; a bad step basically. He had the entire season off. He didn't come back until September, and I wasn't the first one on him. In July I took a fall off a sales horse and broke my collarbone. We broke first bones together! My first, his first, and hopefully our last.
I was out for surgery, and it took longer to heal than expected. Unfortunately, in the same year my father passed away. It was a bad year; a tough year all around. Last year there was a lot to work on and a lot of change. Not just injury but a lot to deal with personally. In hindsight, it's great the way things happen. We didn't compete at Kentucky and took more time to get fit and get back into it and get everything back in order. We needed that year. It paid off because I feel better this year with my riding. We're coming out stronger this year.
Q. How do you treat a broken coffin bone?
A. Joey broke the wing of his coffin bone, and we lucked out that it had nothing to do with the joint, which could have had major complications. He was on stall rest and wore a special shoe with a hospital plate on the bottom that screwed into the shoe. It acts as a cast for the foot. There are extra clips on the shoe so the hoof can't expand, and there's not a lot of movement in the hoof wall.
He stayed in that for most of the year. Honestly, that's all you can do: Stabilize the foot and keep him as quiet as possible. He was in the stall from February until August. We padded his walls so if he kicked it was cushioned.
It's tough because there isn't anything you can do except wait. It doesn't heal like other bones. It's a more fibrous material; it's not as solid. We worried that we couldn't keep him quiet enough. But for a horse that does not like to be locked up, he was very good. Now he'll live in a special shoe to keep that foot stable; it's like a bar shoe.
Q. Tell me how Rolex went for you this year.
