Erin Harty

At the U.S. Eventing Association Safety Summit in the summer of 2008, it became apparent that there are many more questions than there are answers when it comes to some of the troubles that have bedeviled the sport of eventing.

But in at least one area, that’s going to change.

The USEA Cardiovascular Study Task Force has been teleconferencing regularly since the Safety Summit and is preparing to collect some baseline data on what happens to a horse’s heart and lungs during the cross-country phase via a pilot study at the Plantation Field CIC*** (Pa.) in September.

The year was 1999. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had just closed above 10,000 for the first time. President Bill Clinton had recently been acquitted in his impeachment trial. The movie The Matrix had just opened in theaters, and pop singer Britney Spears’ debut single “… Baby One More Time” was atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Google was not yet a verb—merely a newly launched search engine prototype. And the Chronicle opened the virtual doors on its online discussion forum.

A meeting of the minds results in many new proposals to make the sport safer.

For much of this year, the sport of eventing has been thrust into an uncomfortable position in the spotlight, due to a spate of terrible falls and the accompanying media coverage. At the first USEF/ USEA Safety Summit, held June 7-8 in Lexington, Ky., eventers sought to reclaim the sport they love, wresting it off of a track that many find dangerous and unsustainable.

For Paul Miller, executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County (Md.), the Danley case has a familiar ring to it. His group helped to coordinate what is believed to be the largest livestock seizure ever conducted in Maryland—the rescue of 74 horses in Sharpsburg, Md., in December 2006.

The Dennis Danley case proved that monitoring horse neglect isn’t an easy or surefire process.

Not once. Not twice. Three times.

That’s how often law enforcement has interceded on behalf of horses under the care of race horse trainer Dennis B. Danley, who was under court orders not to own or care for horses when 48 neglected Thoroughbreds were seized from a farm Danley’s training partner leased near Middleburg, Va.

Rescue and humane organization officials all stress the importance of reporting suspected neglect or abuse. Concerned citizens often provide a voice for animals in trouble—one they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Two years ago, Polly Merrill thought she was at the end of the road with Telemakhos, or "Mikey," an 8-year-old Thoroughbred she'd hoped to event.

"I was either going to turn him out or put him in the ground," said Merrill, of Sherborn, Mass. For the two years she'd had him, every day had been a struggle. He was so unruly that she wore a helmet and gloves every time she handled him. (And he still managed to break six of her ribs and give her a concussion.) He couldn't stand to be confined--he'd kick at the walls of his stall and refused to stand in the crossties.