In the wake of the Fédération Equestre Internationale’s decision over Amy Tryon’s case, Tryon, along with her husband Greg, horse owner Rebecca Broussard and lawyers Kevin Baumgardner and Andrew Tempkin, volunteered to take questions from the press in a conference call on July 26. Tryon was found guilty of unintended abuse in the incident in which Le Samurai was injured near the finish of the cross-country at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April. He was euthanized on May 4.

On July 20, the FEI Tribunal announced their decision and sentenced her to two months suspension and a combined fine and reimbursement of legal expenses of approximately $2,000 (see July 27, p. 108 for more information).

“I just wanted to say how sorry I am that everyone is asked to convene here because of me,” said Tryon through tears. “I apologize to the FEI, to the Broussard family, to my husband Greg and to my fellow competitors. I have been, my entire life, in defense of animals, and I never would have caused intentional pain. I realize my actions were wrong, and I want to sincerely apologize to everyone.”

Tryon said that she’s not highly computer literate, so she hasn’t spent a lot of time reading public opinions on any online forums. Most of the letters she has received have been in support of her.

“I understand that some individuals are not pleased with what occurred, and I completely respect that as well,” she said. “The people I ride and work with completely understood what occurred and that it could have been any of us in that situation. It was me, and I take responsibility for that.”

For Le Samurai’s owner, Rebecca Broussard, supporting Tryon was never a question. “I saw what happened. It was an accident, and she didn’t cause it, and none of her actions made it worse,” said Broussard, who is now actively looking for another horse for Tryon.

In the events that she contested between Rolex Kentucky and the FEI’s decision, Tryon said she hasn’t encountered any negative reaction to her presence. “Everyone has been overwhelmingly supportive, even more than I would have dreamed,” she said. “If there’s going to be a negative reaction, it’s not something I can control. I can only control what I do.

“In every aspect of life, people will have their opinions, and I’m not going to change them,” she added. “To defend myself would only add fuel to the fire. It’s sort of like politics—people have a very emotional response to things, and it’s not my place to tell them they’re right or wrong.”

Tryon said it has been extremely difficult for her mentally to compete again, however. “It was a huge, devastating loss, but as a professional, I have to keep going,” she said. “It was very difficult to compete at Jersey Fresh [CCI*** (N.J.) in May] with Poggio [her Olympic and World Championship mount], but it was something I needed to do, and I had a great group of people supporting me, including Mark Phillips. You have two choices—you can quit or you can keep going, and to me, quitting isn’t an option.”

Tryon was not allowed to comment on the situation before the trial, but, being a generally quiet person by nature, she said that wasn’t difficult for her. “What’s difficult is not being able to correct the facts that aren’t true,” she said. “The biggest misconception is that [the injury] didn’t occur in one step. The injury did occur in one step, and it was not exacerbated by anything I did. It was the snapping of the suspensory under the fetlock, and the consensus of the vets who cared for him confirmed that it was not due to tiredness or fatigue or jumping the last fence.” [Dr. Kent Allen’s testimony on this fact can be read in the FEI’s summary of the Tribunal, www.horsesport.org].

“There was also a rumor that we’d taken him to one clinic and not liked what they said and then taken him to another, and that’s not true,” she added.

Accepting The Judgment
Tryon believed that the FEI Tribunal process was fair. “They tried very hard to take everything into consideration, and it was done in a fair manner, and they listened to what I said and what Mark Phillips and Karen O’Connor said on my behalf,” she said. “I was willing to accept what they handed me. I felt I wasn’t in a position to judge either way.”

In terms of a reaction from the U.S. Equestrian Federation or U.S. Eventing Association, Tryon said that the USEF was very supportive of her in a statement to the FEI regarding her record as a competitor but remained neutral in declaring whether she was right or wrong.

“David O’Connor has been very supportive of me, but I think that is on a personal level,” she said. “I’ve had no contact with the USEA, although through my husband, I understand that they’ve sent some supportive e-mails.”

Not one of Tryon’s owners has withdrawn their support, and neither have her sponsors, although Charles Owen has requested being temporarily removed from her website due to an overwhelming number of e-mails they’ve received, both positive and negative.

Looking Ahead
In terms of using the accident to learn and prevent it from happening again, Tryon said that Phillips suggested that some sort of “time out” might be created to allow a rider 15 or 30 seconds to dismount and see if a shoe is lost, etc., while on course.

“I’m on the [USEF] Safety Committee, and I’m very concerned about the welfare of horses and riders,” said Tryon. “But in a sport that combines speed with animals, you are going to have variables, and accidents happen. I can second-guess myself and think of changes that could be made, but that wouldn’t change the outcome.”

Once her suspension ends on Sept. 20, Tryon might bring some of her younger horses to the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.). “I’d love to have them be at Fair Hill, but I hesitate to make plans too far in advance. If they’re ready to go, fantastic, and if not, that’s OK too.”

She also has one- and two-star horses who might do a CCI this fall. “They will all have a two-month break, and that’s OK,” she said. “We’ll see how they come out of it. For Poggio, I have no plans until next year.”

The 2008 Olympics could still be a possibility for Tryon. “Poggio is 15 and as well as he’s ever been,” she said. “If the Olympics is in the cards I would love to go, but I have nice young horses too. I know it’s hard for some people to believe, but my career has never been about making teams but about being able to produce horses and finding out what they do best. But I’d be honored to go to the Olympics if it’s in the cards.”

For Le Samurai, Tryon and Broussard would like to create a lasting tribute, but they aren’t sure what type of memorial would be best yet.

“Losing Sparky, I don’t think I’ll ever get over it,” said an emotional Tryon. “It will get easier, but it’s not something you ever get over. I hope to do things in my career that people will remember other than this, and I hope to let my actions speak louder than my words as I go on with my career.”