Eventer Sinead Halpin is recovering from a fall at the Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Ga., on July 7.

Halpin was riding On Cue, a 7-year-old Selle Francais (Cabri D’Elle—On High), in the show jumping phase at the preliminary level when the mare misread an oxer.

“I jumped into a two-stride combination. I came a little bit forward into the first one, and then when she landed, she thought she was going to do it one [stride]. She went to take off and realized that she wasn’t going to take off and put down, but then she was going too quickly to get herself out of it, so she pretty much landed in the middle of it and got tangled in the rails,” Halpin said. “She went down on the left, and I hit my shoulder, so I’m thinking she must have come down on me and rolled over to the right.”

While On Cue walked away without injury, Halpin sustained a fractured scapula, a few broken ribs and a collapsed lung, so she was admitted to the ICU. She hopes to be released today, July 9. This wasn’t Halpin’s first rib injury as she also cracked a rib in January.

Before her accident at Chattahoochee Hills, Halpin rode her top mount, Manoir de Carneville, to a win in the open intermediate division. It was “Tate’s” first competition back after taking the spring off due to a weakened area discovered on a bone scan.

“Tate was really wonderful. He’s such an easy horse, but it just goes to show—it’s the sport. You’re sitting on cloud nine one second, then you’re sitting on the floor,” Halpin said.

Halpin had planned to take Tate to the Haras Du Pin CIC*** (France) and the Fidelity Blenheim Palace CCI*** (Great Britain) this fall, and she’s unsure whether her accident will affect those plans. She’s hoping for a quick recovery, but a lot will depend on the health of her collapsed lung.

“I’m assuming it’s kind of the same with everything—a month or so [off] I would hope, give or take a little,” she said.

While she heals, she’ll spend her time planning her upcoming wedding with fellow eventer Tik Maynard. “[The time off] will actually help. It will get us more organized!” she joked.

Halpin was also set to teach the Area II young riders at their camp in North Carolina in preparation for the Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (Ky.), July 17-21, but Bobby Costello, Will Faudree and Will Coleman will take over.