Helena Kopcyznski set out on the beginner novice cross-country during the Huntington Farm Horse Trials, held July 13 in South Strafford, Vermont, hoping she could build on the work she’d put in over the winter. She’d been focusing on her fitness with 13.3-hand Bantry Bay’s Roper and felt they’d gotten to a good spot—except that she’d come down with a cold and wasn’t at her best on the day of the show.

As the cold-induced fatigue set in while they cantered around the course, her endurance failed her, and she didn’t have enough leg. That, coupled with the fact that “Ro” was a bit surprised by the fence in front of him, led to a refusal.

It happens—and it’s happened to most riders at some point. But what happened next was far from typical.

Ro’s headstall slipped over his ears when he stopped, and he was suddenly without power steering. If Kopcyznski wanted to continue, she had to find a way to get it back on him. Ro hadn’t dropped the bit, so Kopcyznski was able to reach forward and grab the headstall. Though it was more awkward than replacing his bridle from the ground, thanks to Ro’s short neck and steady temperament, she managed to pull the headstall back over his ears. The pair then re-approached and cleared the jump on their second attempt, though Kopcyznski called it a day a few fences later, deciding it wasn’t in their best interest to continue when she didn’t feel great and he’d lost some confidence.

It wasn’t until show photographer Joan Davis of Flatlands Foto sent her a message to say she had shots of the incident that Kopcyznski found out what happened.

“He’s so tiny that he kind of threw me up his [neck], and I shoved my hands right up onto his ears and just literally shoved the bridle off,” said Kopcyznsk, Marlow, New Hampshire.

“I understand that there is information to be gained from chaotic moments competing and do my best to keep shooting when unexpected things start happening,“ said Davis, who is a former eventer. “When she had an ‘oopsie’ moment at the fence, I saw the bridle slide over her horses ears and kept shooting as they left the face of the fence. I have seen event riders’ reactions to unexpected moments for the past 20 years out on cross-country, and this rider might be the quickest-thinking one I have ever captured. She calmly and effectively grabbed the crownpiece in her hand and positioned it back where it belonged. How exciting that I was able to capture the moment for her!“

Though it was a little disconcerting to suddenly find her bridle half off, Kopcyznski said Ro is “a great little pony.” The 20-year-old buckskin Connemara (Chiltern Colm—Bantry Bay’s Dr. Rose) had previously been a breeding stallion at Bantry Bay Farm before being sold and gelded, so he hadn’t done much before Kopcyznski purchased him six years ago.

“Honestly, he’s the easiest pony around,” she said.

“He loves little kids, and he absolutely adores my son,” she added, saying that her 4-year-old has clipped Ro and could shoot arrows off Ro’s back.

After his performance at Huntington, Kopcyznski showered Ro with treats and arranged a visit from his masseuse.

Kopcyznski is an active member of the Connemara Pony Society but new to eventing. She was previously an avid trail runner and believes in supporting land conservation, so she was drawn to those aspects of eventing.

“It’s such a fitness-orientated, but such an open sport, you know,” she said. “I was remarking how every kid you walk by on your way out to the field is telling you to have a good ride, and I really, really love that. And so even if we’re not going off to the Olympics here, we’re at least going out and supporting these venues.”