[sm]

Its sad he surcame to the same injury that Ruffian did..her jock pulled her up and she was still lost but can you imagine if he had galloped her on....

Maybe a "small" point but Ruffian's competition injury was both sesamoid bones in her right foreleg snapped. But that did not kill her: anesthesia wore off after the surgery, she thrashed about the floor of a padded recovery stall as if still running in the race. Despite the efforts of those with her, she broke the cast and her other leg. The medical team, knowing that she would probably not survive more extensive surgery and the repair of both legs euthanized her shortly afterwards.

She also went on for 50 yards after the jockey tried hard to pull her up, no fault of the rider. Ruffian is buried near the finish line in the infield at Belmont Park, her nose pointed towards the finish pole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffian_(horse)

[ideayoda]

Ja, I do have my facts straight. The one film shows the time between the next to the last and the last. But, bobbles in gait (trotting/cross cantering) did happen earlier (before the next to the last), just not the chastostrophic one that is so obvious in the short from the front (narrated) one.

And yes, Jacinto (who rode for us) used all his might to pull Ruffian up asap, jumping off in mid flight, in order to try and help. And yes, it was fighting to get up which cause her to be injured (which might not have happened with todays advances) further.

[Whistlejacket]

The Tribunal made their decision based on evidence, not emotion, and disregarded statements from people that could not be cross-examined. That is how I would hope the justice system would work if I am ever at it's mercy.

hb - I agree with this. Specifically, I agree that the governing bodies charged with making decisions regarding a rider's / trainer's actions should not be influenced by opinions voiced on the internet or any other source that cannot be cross-examined. And that all rules of due process should be followed for the evaluation and decision making process of the actual case.

In addition to their responsibility to provide scrupulous due process during such cases, however, the governing bodies also are dependent on the support (financial and otherwise ) of their membership. This does not mean that internet polls, etc. should be allowed to influence the actual case proceedings. Instead it means that in their public statements and actions (independent of those regarding the specific ruling on the case) the governing bodies needs to respect and act in accordance with the fact the membership actually exists and is capable of intelligent, constructive, rational thought and dialog.

Judging from the number of solicitations I receive from them for money, the USEF and USEA don't seem to have any trouble viewing me as an intelligent / responsible / engaged individual...at least in such select situations as asking me for money....hmmm...

[GreekDressageQueen]

Get out your rocks and stone me. I think the FEI made an honorable and fair decision. As a lawyer, I think the opinion was very well written. The comment about the internet was brilliant

From one Esquire to another - I totally agree with you.

As for AT - I am not some 30+ years professional event rider, but I do know when my horse feels off. Perhaps we should rethink the "kick, and ride on" attitude prevalent in the eventing world today and replace it with "stop and check" - time faults are nothing compared to the life of a horse. You may not win this competition, but there will be others.

[fernie fox]

Are the videos still available,if so where.

[sm]

fernie fox:

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=664abo2

[Racetb*Aefvue Farm*Biziz Ltd.]

Hope you all viewing it for the first time have a strong stomach...and no firearms within easy reach.

[fernie fox]

Oh my gosh.

I think enough has been said.

Who was the announcer,He sure as heck caught it.

[Ilex]

What a wonderful boost to my ego! REALLY!

All this time I thought I was just a so - so rider. To think I can actually 'feel' and recognize what I am 'feeling' w/my horse when something is not right .... at the walk, trot, canter, and gallop! I am a better rider according to the statements made in the full FEI report on this matter, then several Olympic riders!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently.....my horsemanship is better too! When I 'feel' something wrong I frigging stop and investigate the matter.

Honestly the actions and comments of some of these people (FEI, USEF, Olympic level riders, owners, coaches) are just down right bizarre to me. At my barn the horse comes first....not the compitition or the goals.....the horse. And if these riders can not feel what is going on then they need to go back to the lunge.

[MistyBlue]

The part that really confuses me is that she definitely knew something was wrong (amazingly only after passing the timer ) and pulls up, loops the reins and doesn't check his legs. I think I see her resetting her watch instead. She looks towards those running towards her and the cameras...not at the horse.
Is it me or would even the most ignorant human who claims they assumed the horse had a loose shoe or slipped boot would immediately *check that shoe or boot*???? Not loop the reins, reset your watch and watch to see where the cameras were?
That, to me, negates anything she's claimed in the hearing. Definitely looks as if she knew something was wrong and didn't want to see what it was.

[flyingchange]

A very, very sad day for eventing indeed.

[Racetb*Aefvue Farm*Biziz Ltd.]

fernie...Yeah, that poor announcer was getting ill. I wonder who it was too.

Misty Blue...Good point!!! She DID NOT leap off and go to the horse's aid...Did just what you observed. Like I said...Chris Antley she ain't.

[romanschief]

The video says it all. No matter what the Tribunal findings were, this is one person who should never ever represent the USA in the Olympics. That wasn't a bobble, it was a major misstep, where upon the horse trotted lame. Hellooooo??? Was anyone watching that? The announcer kept saying, oh god, over and over. He knew, he saw it was horrific. Jockeys ride their mounts for maybe one or two races. This is a person who supposedly trained with this horse daily for years. Yet, those jockeys show enormous fortitude and care for their horses. Why didn't she???

[BigRuss1996]

The man on the video is actually not an announcer if you look closely it is a tape of someones monitor screen so the man heard moaning is the person who taped it and he was reacting to what he was seeing on the live feed.

fernie...Yeah, that poor announcer was getting ill. I wonder who it was too.

Misty Blue...Good point!!! She DID NOT leap off and go to the horse's aid...Did just what you observed. Like I said...Chris Antley she ain't.

[annikak]

And, obviously, they didn't see the entire video.

I am VERY sure they did.
Read the entire report.

[Spoilsport]

Spoilsport - I've got to disagree with your opinion that the statement the FEI made about the internet was, as you described "brilliant".

* * *

But the above comment by the FEI indicates a significant disconnect between the FEI and the very real world in which we all inhabit of the internet, Y-tube, etc. Yes, such formats do allow an opportunity for an electronic "lynch mob" to form and express often times extreme, not-well-thought-out opinions. But importantly, this technology also allows large numbers of intelligent / experienced / responsible / rational / engaged / constructive / and articulate individuals access to information and events that they might not have had such direct access to without these technological advances. And in turn, these large numbers of intelligent, etc. individuals who are fully capable of formulating rational and responsible opinions in other aspects of their lives will form rational and responsible opinons on some of the things they learn about, discuss , and actually view on the internet, Y-tube, etc.

It would have been improper for the tribunal to base a decision on public opinion. It makes no difference whether the opinion came from a bunch of nuts or from intelligent and articulate people . Decisions of judicial bodies have to be based on the evidence presented at the proceeding. Public opinion doesn't count. Period.

Politicians are well aware that in this day and age of increased information access, that they must act accordingly if they want to earn or retain public trust and support.

That's where you have it mixed up. The tribunal is not a political body. The FEI may be political but the tribunal is not. It is an arm of the FEI that is -- or is supposed to be -- independent, making decisions based on the facts and not public opinion or emotion.

The reason I think the comment is brilliant is not because it's right (it is) but because the tribunal went out of its way to make clear that it acted properly and independently and did not let itself be influenced public opinion YAY!

Of course the tribunal saw the video. I've watched it too, several times, and it isn't obvious to me that AT must have known that something was drastically wrong. Other eventers testifed for at the tribunal that they've made errors of perception. Were they lying? The tribunal also understood that there was nothing for AT to gain by deliberately finishing the course with a broken-down horse that would never have passed a vet check. Even people at the highest levels of eventing are capable of errors in perception. They are human, not machines. Amy made a tragic error, and she has paid for it dearly with the loss of Sparky. Give her a break!

[annikak]

I read the entire thing- and I truly think everyone should. And I agree with the above--

--It is very well done. And her statements seem to be everything that everyone here seems to think she did not make.

That woman feels horribly. NUMEROUS people were questioned.

Read it guys. Really.

[bosox]

my 10 year old...heard me playing the video...and she was watching over my shoulder. That kid has radar...anything horsey--and she comes running

Anyhow--she said, "What happened?" I said--"What do you think happened?" She said, "Can I see it again?" She watched--and said..."the horse got hurt...but got more hurt before the fence."

I asked her what would she have done if it was her pony...and w/o thinking about it...she said-"I would have gotten off--as soon as Drummer tripped." Then she bounced away...because her show came back on.

Are you telling me a D3 PCer who is 10--knows the horse was lame--and an Olympic Rider did not? A D3 rider who has only gone up to BN knows when a horse is lame and an Olympic Rider does not? Sometimes--out of the mouth of babe's flows the honest truth!

I guess it pays to have friends in high places. Kind of like when a jury gives an astronomical award to someone who spilled coffee in their lap--maybe they are thinking--One day it could be me.

[Tiki]

From the Pan Am Games

"Unfortunately, Mara Dean and Nicki Henley, the overnight leaders after the dressage, retired on course between 22 and 23. Dean felt that the horse wasn’t quite right and made the decision to pull him up immediately. According to Capt. Mark Phillips, the U.S. chef d’equipe, Nicki Henley walked back to the stable where he was met by a team veterinarian who did confirm that he sustained an injury to his left front leg, but it is thought he will be fit to fly home on Monday with the rest of the team."

If only AT had had the same concern for her horse! 2 month suspension or not, if she is EVER picked for a team to represent the US again, I hope everyone here, and everyone in the world will protest sooooooooooo loud that she never gets to ride, suspension or not.

[Lynnwood]

Will they throw the public out for booing the next time she is on course. Im afraid that is the bed she has made for her self.

She knew he was hurt and she acted aloof at the finish to keep the blame down. If she had jumped off and picked up his leg then EVERYONE would know she galloped on knowing her horse was hurt. By not even acknowledging his leg she was preserving her self. What a sorry sack she is