This surprised me.Harry Meade disqualified.

[fernie fox]

Burghley Horse Trials: news on Harry Meade

Pippa Roome, H&H eventing editor at Burghley

6 September, 2009

Burghley Horse Trials has released a statement saying that Harry Meade was unable to ride his second horse, Midnight Dazzler, yesterday because the ground jury disqualified him from the event after his ride on Dunauger at the start of cross-country day.
Dunauger became tired on the way round the course and eventually became stuck on the alternative corner at fence 19, Capability's Classic, leading to a delay of approximately 25 minutes while he was extracted. He was washed off on course and left the area in a horse ambulance, but is reported to be uninjured.

The ground jury considered Harry had breached the rule on "Abuse of horse and dangerous riding", namely "riding an exhausted horse" and "excessive pressing of a tired horse" and he was therefore disqualified.

The statement added that Harry accepted the decision of the ground jury and realised he should have retired the horse earlier on the course.

[kookicat]

Good for the GJ, I say! :yes:

Dunauger was lucky to come away uninjured. Maybe next time Harry won't push his horses so hard.

[fernie fox]

Good for the GJ, I say! :yes:

Dunauger was lucky to come away uninjured. Maybe next time Harry won't push his horses so hard.

I just watched the video of his ride,,I am surprised he continued after 4 minutes into his ride,the horse did not look happyThen he seemed to pick up a bit.

I too applaud the Ground jury for their decision.

Harry used to be a very considerate rider,as was his dad.

[Amyy]

I was disgusted when I watched the video and I'm glad he got disqualified. Dunauger was struggling to even maintain a canter, he should have retired after he took out the flag on the corner, he barely made it over that.

[OverandOnward]

I was disgusted when I watched the video and I'm glad he got disqualified. Dunauger was struggling to even maintain a canter, he should have retired after he took out the flag on the corner, he barely made it over that.
I hate to say it but I agree, it was painful to watch this horse who wanted to give beyond what he had being pushed and pushed and pushed. He was laboring, taking trot steps. Well before the spot where he was trapped he sort of chested down on a corner he just didn't have the energy to get over. Again and again there were moments I thought the rider would pull up this fine but exhausted horse ... but instead the rider circled and circled trying to get the horse's shoulders up to go on to the next jump. I've admired videos of this rider in the past, but this was a sad way to treat a horse that started out so full of energy, enthusiasm, heart and generosity. :cry:

There was at least one other rider and horse of which I had similar thoughts, who also finally stopped only after they came to grief on course. Neither of these riders was likely to finish in the top few, why would they do this? Such decisions aren't exactly setting an example for lower-level riders, or gaining the admiration of the horse-loving public. :(

[JER]

Neither of these riders was likely to finish in the top few, why would they do this? Such decisions aren't exactly setting an example for lower-level riders, or gaining the admiration of the horse-loving public. :(

I mentioned this on another thread but it's worth repeating.

Let me get this out of the way first -- I don't think the GJ should hesitate to pull up a horse that looks exhausted or not right.

But, as I mentioned on the other thread, there were several riders in the field who, IMO, have a serious history of pushing on tired horses. One finished in the top few (very few) today. Two others -- both youngish UK riders, one of whom has had a couple of serious falls and a horse death in the past year -- finished further down the field. Another -- who has been pushing horses on in broken 4-beat canters for several decades -- was highly placed after dressage on one of his rides. These are riders who have done this sort of thing consistently with no official repercussions.

Put another way, it's a lot less grief for the officials to make an example of Harry Meade than the riders I'm referring to.

[SevenDogs]

JER:

Curious... is it your opinion that the riders you are referring to did so at this competition or just historically?

Also posted on the other thread: Kudos to those riders that DID pull up if their horse didn't feel quite right, including Becky!

[JER]

JER:

Curious... is it your opinion that the riders you are referring to did so at this competition or just historically?


I didn't see their rides. My comment was just about the arbitrariness of this judgment. Harry Meade does not have a history of pushing on tired horses -- but now he has a reputation for it. People will remember it.

I'm not saying he didn't make a mistake. He did, but both he and the horse were ok. And he admitted his mistake and accepted the judgment.

A few years ago, I saw a BNR ride a horse into the ground at Badminton. I couldn't believe no one stopped him. I couldn't believe the horse made it to the finish flags. When he showed up to present the horse the next day, the boos started before he started jogging. He did not pass and there was a big cheer. But he's done this throughout his career without official consequence.

So while I like that the officials are cracking down on these abuses, I'm wondering where they've been all these years, especially for known repeat offenders -- who might be a lot less pleasant to deal with than Harry Meade.

[SevenDogs]

Gotcha.

[riderboy]

Man, I know this is a bit naive on my part but why in the blue blazes would you even think about taking a horse who is not conditioned properly to a huge 4* like Burghley. I mean, come on. And then have such a struggling ride that the GJ disqualifies you? That is just hard to imagine.

[OverandOnward]

So while I like that the officials are cracking down on these abuses, I'm wondering where they've been all these years, especially for known repeat offenders -- who might be a lot less pleasant to deal with than Harry Meade.
I'm guessing no one else was pulled up by the officials. Perhaps officials don't want the public to feel the competition is full of unwise riders and unfairly used horses. But a lack of effort to put a stop to it encourages unwise riders to unfairly use their horses, hoping they will somehow finish. So the very thing the officials fear becomes more and more likely to be seen and remembered by the viewing public. If that makes sense.

One of the defenses of UL xc riding eventing fans fall back on is that there is no incentive to keep a horse going when it is time to stop. No prizes for the xc placings, not likely to improve on an unimpressive dressage placing in the sj, just burning out the horse for the next competition. But riders pushing on anyway defeats that rationale.

Do riders do this so they can say that the horse finished a big 4* course, long after the memory of how it was done is out of sight and mind? Or that the rider finished a big 4*? Unwillingness to fall short of a massive effort by many people over many months to get into the start box? Or ... ?

Kudos to the officials who took action on this. Considering that the second ride Harry was preventing from taking is an older horse, perhaps they really did protect Midnight Dazzler from the risk of the same fate at the hands of the same ambitious rider. Or perhaps Harry missed out on another good trip on this wonderful horse because of his poor judgment with the first one.

Imo there was at least one other video'd rider who also should have shown better judgment. I realize that it is hard to be a rider with the talent but without a truly ready horse. Nonetheless wishful thinking won't change that.

[SevenDogs]

It could be something other than a lack of conditioning. Horses have good and bad days just like us and an even slightly bad day can be dramatic on a four star course. Even a small injury can cause a horse to use him/herself differently and tire more easily. Travel, strange surroundings, altitude (probably not relevant here), etc can really affect any horse.

That's why I am impressed when a rider retires mid course if the horse just doesn't feel right. I am not commenting on his ride (didn't see it), just saying in general.

[JER]

Man, I know this is a bit naive on my part but why in the blue blazes would you even think about taking a horse who is not conditioned properly to a huge 4* like Burghley. I mean, come on. And then have such a struggling ride that the GJ disqualifies you? That is just hard to imagine.

Failures of physiology in human athletes are usually not about conditioning. It's more along the lines of you're fine and then you're not.

I've posted these links before about some human stats and case studies of physiological failure in exercise:

The Science of Sport -- Fatigue Series (http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/fatigue%20series)

The Science of Sport -- Heatstroke, Pt 3 (http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/10/heatstroke-continued.html)

Interesting food for thought. Does the same thing happen to horses?

[OverandOnward]

Man, I know this is a bit naive on my part but why in the blue blazes would you even think about taking a horse who is not conditioned properly to a huge 4* like Burghley. I mean, come on. And then have such a struggling ride that the GJ disqualifies you? That is just hard to imagine.

My guesses ...

Because ... a need for a seriously ambitious rider to maintain their current stats in a what-have-you-done lately community. Stats to stay on the radar of owners of talented horses, to maintain credibility with the national team selectors, to gratify the owner of the horse being started. Combined with a shortage of ready 4* horses available to ready riders. Especially if the rider thinks they are strong enough to nurse the horse around in spite of gaps in conditioning, training or the horse's lack of desire to run a 4* course.

I do get the pressures on 4* riders trying to balance many factors and stay in the game, how hard it is when it is not just themselves as an athlete but the need for a great horse as well. It's just sad for the horses that try their best to go above their heads to please an ambitious rider, until their hearts start to break. :cry:

[nomeolvides]

I'd have thought that Dunauger being a seriously strong horse may have had an influence in how tired he got, or maybe there are other factors like a virus or something.
Anyway this whole thing has got me completely baffled because Harry does not have a history of things like this, in fact he has always been known as a very considerate and kind rider so I'm so confused as to why he displayed such a humungous error of judgement at Burghley :(

[frugalannie]

I didn't see any of the videos nor follow the scoring: just saw this thread and had a question.

Does the UK not have the provision that we have here to pull up a horse that is clearly in distress (according to others' comments) before it has serious trouble at a jump? Or have I misunderstood what can actually be done on course even here?

Not trying to ignite a fire, just trying to understand the intent vs. the actuality of the regs.

[piccolittle]

After watching the video it appeared to me that the horse perhaps injured himself when he hit the flag on the corner. He was just never quite right after that, particularly behind.

[In_]

Can someone please share the link to a video?

Cannot find one myself...

[snoopy]

I didn't see any of the videos nor follow the scoring: just saw this thread and had a question.

Does the UK not have the provision that we have here to pull up a horse that is clearly in distress (according to others' comments) before it has serious trouble at a jump? Or have I misunderstood what can actually be done on course even here?

Not trying to ignite a fire, just trying to understand the intent vs. the actuality of the regs.



Burghley is run under FEI rules and those rules are worldwide and has nothing to do with National rules... BE, USEF, etc. So in this case the rules are the same for Burghley as they would be for Rolex and any other event held under FEI rules in any country.

[fernie fox]

Sadly ,this will affect Harry's reputation,which until now has been excellent.

I feel the horse was trained and produced correctly for this event.

I feel something happened on course.that caused the horses sudden fatigue.

I hope they pull blood to see if a problem shows up,he could have a virus,there has to be a reason as to why this happened.

In watching the video,as I said,it looked as though he ran out of power at the 4 minute time.

Something was not right.IMHO.

[snoopy]

Sadly ,this will affect Harry's reputation,which until now has been excellent.

I feel the horse was trained and produced correctly for this event.

I feel something happened on course.that caused the horses sudden fatigue.

I hope they pull blood to see if a problem shows up,he could have a virus,there has to be a reason as to why this happened.

In watching the video,as I said,it looked as though he ran out of power at the 4 minute time.

Something was not right.IMHO.

I agree...from the video, Harry showed no classic signs of pressing a tired horses. His ride was not aggressive, he was not kicking and hiting with the stick. Infact Harry was ever so quiet in the saddle. I thought it was a lovely round on the whole. I too think that Harry knows better then to take a horse that is not fit enough to Burghley. I would like to think that something else went wrong.

[ceffyl]

The horse is a known very hard puller. He was super fit, but seemed to hit the wall literally at fence 14, the gas just ran out. Harry made a serious error of judgement, but on the other hand if you had seen it first hand he never hit or spurred the horse on, he really was not pushing it unlike some other's who managed to nurse tired horses home, well not even nurse, bully more like. Harry is known as a sympathetic , caring rider, sensitive to his horses at all times and I hope this does not turn into a witch hunt.

It was not as painful to watch as Zara at Badminton last year (I cannot remember if it was Glenbuck or A. Magic Star) when she carried a knackered horse over the last 3/2rd of the course, even watching a replay of the commentary the voice over was aghast. She SHOULD have been pulled up, ditto again at Burghely a knackered horse but it fell before they again did anything. Andrew N at Bejing with Lord Killinghurst, that was painful to watch and I have tremendous admiration for Andrew but he is an incredibly strong rider and can push horses to their absolute limit, maybe beyond but it is not always noticeable. I have had two horses that he has taken to the top that I found incredibly hard work, as did another well known rider, yet Andrew could literally carry them.

And unlike another infamous incident that resulted in a horse being pushed to it's death where there was a large amount of sympathy for the rider (who SHOULD have been suspended for in excess of 1 year and fined but got off oh so lightly) this time the rider (Harry) has no previous history of harsh treatment of his horses.

[JER]

It was not as painful to watch as Zara at Badminton last year (I cannot remember if it was Glenbuck or A. Magic Star) when she carried a knackered horse over the last 3/2rd of the course, even watching a replay of the commentary the voice over was aghast. She SHOULD have been pulled up, ditto again at Burghely a knackered horse but it fell before they again did anything.

:yes::yes: (see my earlier post)

Andrew N at Bejing with Lord Killinghurst, that was painful to watch and I have tremendous admiration for Andrew but he is an incredibly strong rider and can push horses to their absolute limit, maybe beyond but it is not always noticeable. I have had two horses that he has taken to the top that I found incredibly hard work, as did another well known rider, yet Andrew could literally carry them.

Yes again, but would you like to to be the official who pulls him up?

As for pulling up Zara, that's a can of worms that extends beyond the eventing or even equestrian world. It would be front-page of The Sun.

[ceffyl]

:yes::yes: (see my earlier post)



Yes again, but would you like to to be the official who pulls him up?

As for pulling up Zara, that's a can of worms that extends beyond the eventing or even equestrian world. It would be front-page of The Sun.


Should not matter one iota WHO the hell is onboard, it should be about the horse, but that does not seem to be the case. And in the case of Zara I think it is more about reprisal from pappa than ZP herself.

[ceffyl]

:yes::yes: (see my earlier post)



Yes again, but would you like to to be the official who pulls him up?

As for pulling up Zara, that's a can of worms that extends beyond the eventing or even equestrian world. It would be front-page of The Sun.

:uhoh: Sorry did not bother to trawl through the whole thread - I'll go back and read it

[JER]

Should not matter one iota WHO the hell is onboard, it should be about the horse, but that does not seem to be the case. And in the case of Zara I think it is more about reprisal from pappa than ZP herself.

I agree with you, it shouldn't matter who the rider is. But officials do choose their battles.

In Zara's case (and she was one of the unnamed examples in my earlier posts), one could argue that a stern -- very stern -- warning from the GJ might be a wiser decision than to book her for horse abuse. The resulting publicity would draw a lot of negative, sensationalist attention to the sport and to Zara, far out of proportion to the actual infraction.

Look at this headline from Burghley -- Zara Phillips breaks rules on dogs (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/6132877/Zara-Phillips-breaks-rules-on-dogs.html) -- and the accompanying photo. Just a little over the top, I'd say. But the Royals do sell papers.

[OverandOnward]

Here's the video link.
http://www.burghley.tv/



Should not matter one iota WHO the hell is onboard, it should be about the horse, but that does not seem to be the case.
No it shouldn't. And the sport should make every effort to let their officials know that such decisions are supported, not censured, by the organization. The eventing public should do that same.

The organizations must let officials know that the org. will do everything they can to shield those who make the call from repercussions. If people are reticent, they must be actively reassured and encouraged to report by those in authority. If encouragement and reassurance aren't repeated to the officials by the organization, this won't change.

[flea]

A rider of his caliber should have had more presence of mind and pulled up of course!!!! I am glad however, to hear the statement he admitted he made a mistake and should have pulled up. No argueing, no horse blaming, no adrenaline blaming. He messed up. Thank goodness the horse seems OK!

[OverandOnward]

Look at this headline from Burghley -- Zara Phillips breaks rules on dogs (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/6132877/Zara-Phillips-breaks-rules-on-dogs.html) -- and the accompanying photo. Just a little over the top, I'd say. But the Royals do sell papers.
Rules that aren't enforced aren't rules. Rules that are rules for some but not others aren't respected.

It's easy to look past and ignore rules violations. But the more it is done, the harder and harder it becomes to pull back and enforce compliance.

[OverandOnward]

But, as I mentioned on the other thread, there were several riders in the field who, IMO, have a serious history of pushing on tired horses.


Anyway this whole thing has got me completely baffled because Harry does not have a history of things like this, in fact he has always been known as a very considerate and kind rider so I'm so confused as to why he displayed such a humungous error of judgement at Burghley :(

Perhaps what's sad is that Harry is the one who will carry this on the Burghley record and his record forever. Not that it wasn't merited, but perhaps others more deserve such a the lasting mark.

What would help riders to think twice about pushing a horse who is done? The "R" should be an honorable badge of putting the horse first. It should be no shame on the horse either, not every capable and qualified horse will be at the peak it needs to be on xc day for benign reasons.

[HorsesinHaiti]

Can anyone get that video to run past fence 5? I still can't.

[SevenDogs]

What would help riders to think twice about pushing a horse who is done? The "R" should be an honorable badge of putting the horse first. It should be no shame on the horse either, not every capable and qualified horse will be at the peak it needs to be on xc day for benign reasons.

Could not agree more!

Heck, I would even settle for everyone to expect that every horse will be retired on course at least a few times in their career, and have it seen as just a part of the process.

[LessonLearned]

Can anyone get that video to run past fence 5? I still can't.

Just push the little scrubber bar a little past the point where it stopped and re-click the play button. You should be good to go.

Re. Zara, if I am recalling correctly, the horse was Glenbuck and the commentators were applauding her ability to "nurse the horse home." The poor horse looked like he was about to drop.

Some interesting perspectives on this event on the Horse and Hound forum (including some heated discussion using AT as a comparison point):

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4775288/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1

[OverandOnward]

Would HM have been tasked with this elimination if the horse had not become trapped in the jump?

Noted the remark in the H&H thread that officials are reluctant to pull up a professional, as "they know what they are doing." Could that reluctance be true? Are officials here in the U.S. more reluctant to intervene with a professional than they are with an amateur?

[gardenie]

I think he thought the horse had enough jump to get around and found he was wrong. What a pity, because he rides the horse well and appears to be a thoughtful, quiet rider, and appeared to have miscalculated. I hope that this does wake up riders to think more clearly, but again, in the heat of competition, we don't always make the right choices.

I just hope that we don't make riders worried to the point they ride backwards. I imagine at the ***/**** this will be less a problem, but if LL folks watch too much, they may fail to kick on and keep a horse going that is being a bit nappy and end up with a stopper.

[asterix]

I'm a little reluctant to armchair quarterback -- watching a little video of someone I don't know on my computer screen is hardly a high-quality analysis...

but one thing you have to ask is how deeply riders know their horses. We know Becky and Comet, for example, have a very long and very solid connection. He looked pretty good to me but obviously to her he was not "on," and she quickly made the decision that it was over. I am sure she has a terrific feel for him.

From the video, it certainly seems very obvious that HM's horse is Done. How long has he had the ride, does anyone know? How long is that partnership, and how deep? Perhaps a more limited experience with the horse really impairs your ability to swiftly sense, in the heat of the moment (although to my eye it had been coming for several fences), that the horse is really not right.

[greyshowjumper]

Here is the link. Just watched his run. It does stop half way, but just pull arrow to move further along. Just sign up and you can watch the video's of any rider. http://burghley.tv/

[JER]

From the video, it certainly seems very obvious that HM's horse is Done. How long has he had the ride, does anyone know? How long is that partnership, and how deep? Perhaps a more limited experience with the horse really impairs your ability to swiftly sense, in the heat of the moment (although to my eye it had been coming for several fences), that the horse is really not right.

This is his first season on Dunauger. His record is here (http://www.britisheventing.com/asp-net/Events/Results.aspx?HorseId=48389). His owner -- who has competed him for a long time -- rode him at Burghley last year. However, she felt he was too strong for her at that level so she asked Harry to take over.

The horse has loads of experience dating back from the long-format years.

As I mentioned on a previous thread, I imagine that Harry has been trying to work out this horse's issues. He is very obviously strong right out of the box and the goal would be to get him to settle down. Maybe he's the kind of horse who needs to get a little tired (I don't mean exhausted, I mean in a taking-the-edge-off way, like a strong hunt horse) before he starts to really pay attention.

Failures of physiology are puzzling. A well-conditioned human athlete sometimes hits the wall for no discernible reason. (I posted some good links about fatigue and thermoregulatory failures on the other thread.) You're fine and then you're not. If you've ever been with anyone who got heat stroke, you'd know what I'm talking about. They're not sweating, they're acting normal, then they're collapsing with a core temp of 105.

There was a French event horse about 10 years ago who looked terrible when he ran XC. He sweated profusely, breathed hard, foam everywhere and looked quite scary at times. But he was fine (actually, he was more than fine, he was a fantastic horse), that was just how he went.

At Badminton last year, a number of horses hit the wall at the 10 minute mark. Two of the German horses literally crumpled. But again, these were experienced riders on experienced horses and I though it might be significant that multiple horses had this problem at the same point on the course.

It could have something to do with the amount of Heart Rate Variability required for a course like this. In humans, endurance athletes with low resting heart rates are sometimes lacking in HRV and it catches up to you (in the form of a heart attack) when you get older.

For all the talk here about 'never' pushing a tired horse, what about qualifications and team competitions? What about when your team will fail to gain Olympic qualification if you don't complete? What if you're in that situation and you're 5 fences from home? Do you pull up immediately or do you try to finish safely, knowing that if you don't, your country does not get to field a team at the Olympics?

I'm just saying, riders sometimes have very big, conflicting pressures to deal with -- and dealing with them while traveling 550 mpm on a CCI**** can't be easy.

[asterix]

Oh, JER, totally agreed that it can't be easy -- that's why I said, this is what I see sitting in front of my computer, not, what an awful person, how could he, etc etc.

I was simply wondering whether there is any correlation between the intimate knowledge of how a horse goes under serious pressure -- well, sufficiently, or "red flag, this isn't normal" -- and the ability of the rider to make that decision on the fly, whatever the reason for the problem may be.

[roomoosan]

Harry gave a statement to a local (to him) paper - http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/4583995.EQUESTRIAN__Meade_disappointed_after_Burgh ley_blow/

“He has been tested and his bloods have not come back as we would have hoped so it looks like he has a virus... We’ll know more clearly what is wrong in the next couple of days but I think we’ll be giving him a good rest over the next few weeks and months.”

[OverandOnward]

I don't know about "never" "pushing" a "tired" horse. There's tired, and then there's exhausted. Supporting a "tiring" horse as part of a long day in any horse discipline.

XC is the endurance phase. Of course the horse is "tired" when finishing at the higher levels. Of course many riders need to support the horse more through the final stages. Endurance is part of the whole philosophy of eventing, of the sj test.

There's no pat statement that covers this ground. Sounds like definitions are needed for "push" and "tired," and "support" and "exhausted." The more extreme issues of exhaustion, laboring, struggling, and how to identify these things visually, need to be defined. I'm sure as in my case a lot of course officials haven't ridden upper level and don't feel they have the experience to make the call, would just like to know when to refer to someone else.

I've got dunno how many past-year 4* dvd's with commentators remarking on how Oliver Townend 'nursed' or 'supported' Topping through the final third or so of XC. They speak as if that is part of having the ride on Topping, who could jump the 4* jumps. Sounded like getting Topping around is what enabled Ollie to prove himself and get other horses - otherwise I wonder if he would be where he is today at the top of both Badminton and Burghley. Dunno. ??? And of course he is not the only one in a situation like that.

[JER]

There's no pat statement that covers this ground. Sounds like definitions are needed for "push" and "tired," and "support" and "exhausted." The more extreme issues of exhaustion, laboring, struggling, and how to identify these things visually, need to be defined.


These are important points.

However, the visual may not correspond with what is actually going on. Some horses sweat copiously no matter how fit they are; others look fine until they collapse.

If we were to pull human athletes off course for looking 'exhausted', 'laboring' or 'struggling', Paula Radcliffe, the world's greatest female marathoner, wouldn't ever finish a race.

This is one reason why the vet box after C was so valuable.

[Badger]

According to this article, bloodwork shows that Dunauger tied up. That is consistent with what I saw on Saturday:

http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/sport/4587319.EQUESTRIAN__Meade__I_should_have_pulled_up/

“It was the wrong decision made in the heat of the moment, I should have pulled up.

“Luckily he’s ok and it’s a relief to know from the blood tests that there’s an explanation as to why he suddenly became tired. He’s now having a holiday with his owner.

[fernie fox]

I am so glad they found that out.

Hindsight is always 20/20,I did think he looked more tucked up at the start.

I also was convinced something went wrong,just after 4 mins,into his ride.

I think that is why Harry circled him a couple of times,maybe he not sure what was going on.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Harry and the horses owners.

[JER]

The latest from horse & Hound: Eventer Harry Meade devastated by Burghley disqualification (http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/289131.html)

He said: "Dunauger is very strong and fit and was going very well, then went out like a light. Because he was so fit, I thought I could nurse him home. I'm so relieved he is not hurt."

A blood test taken later showed the horse had "tied up" — a muscular contraction caused by lactic acid.

Good on Harry for being so public and honest about this incident.

[Andrea_W]

Harry Meade says he desperately regrets his decision.
http://www.barnmice.com/group/everythingeventing/forum/topics/harry-meade-at-burghley-what