In light of the accidents at the Red Hills CIC***-W in Florida, the issue of cross-country safety was on the forefront of everyone’s minds at The Fork, particularly after periods of downpours throughout the weekend added an extra element of risk to the footing.

Officials not only decided to change the event schedule to work with the weather, but they also modified the cross-country course as well, removing three of the CIC and advanced fences for safety reasons. The third of three consecutive corners at 6ABC was removed on Friday, and wet footing prompted the removal of a rolltop and trakehner on Sunday morning.

“I think they were sensible to take the trakehner out,” said CIC*** winner Leslie Law. “[We didn’t need to be] running down hill to a fence like that. Most horses are going to jump that anyway, so it was a good decision to take it off.”

Heidi White-Carty, winner of the CIC***-W, also said the communication at the daily rider meetings was more open than in the past, allowing competitors to air their concerns. After riding the course, many riders sang the praises of the grounds crew and organizing staff for their diligence in grooming the course up until the last possible minute.

“They did a super job considering the conditions,” White-Carty said after logging a fault-free cross-country round. “They put in a huge effort to do all they could to make it safe.”

Law concurred, noting that at this pivotal point in the eventing season, many riders were counting on this run.

“They worked so hard to have this ready for us today,” he said. “Obviously, this was an important event for people trying to qualify and get on to Rolex, so obviously people wanted to ride.

“In England, this would be considered great ground,” he added.

Mike Winter, who rode four CIC mounts on Sunday, said, “Really the footing was not compromised around the jumps at all. All my horses were good today. That’s some of the best footing we’ve had, actually.”

Advanced winner Bonnie Mosser, who served as a rider representative with Dorothy Crowell and Mara Dean, said she met with the ground jury at least twice daily throughout the event.

“The communication between the ground jury, the [technical delegates] and the rider reps was, by far, the best ever,” she said. “It really came from the T.D., Wayne Quarles, and it made a big difference. The process is the best part. I think it’s a huge step in our sport. In general, for the whole world and the sport, I thought we had a really good weekend.”