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| Oliver Townsend survived this brutal fall at Rolex. So did the horse. |
From the USEF Rules For Eventing:
EV141 Cross-Country Scoring.
b. Falls -
(1) First fall of competitor Elimination
(2) First fall of horse Mandatory retirement
b. Falls -
(1) First fall of competitor Elimination
(2) First fall of horse Mandatory retirement
EV142 Cross-Country—Definitions of Faults
4. FALLS.
a. A competitor is considered to have fallen when he is separated from his horse in
such a way as to necessitate remounting or vaulting into the saddle.
b. A horse is considered to have fallen when at the same time both its shoulder and
quarters have touched either the ground or the obstacle and the ground.
c. A fall will always be penalized when it occurs between the elements of an obstacle
composed of several elements (A B C).
4. FALLS.
a. A competitor is considered to have fallen when he is separated from his horse in
such a way as to necessitate remounting or vaulting into the saddle.
b. A horse is considered to have fallen when at the same time both its shoulder and
quarters have touched either the ground or the obstacle and the ground.
c. A fall will always be penalized when it occurs between the elements of an obstacle
composed of several elements (A B C).
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| Uh oh. |
SO the hot topic in the eventing community these days is the one-fall rule. The USEF Board of Directors voted not to approve the proposed rule change - which would have allowed riders to continue after the first fall as long as they maintained control of their horse and did not require medical attention.
I see both sides of the argument. Yes, there are times when you have a silly pop-off, land on your feet and could easily carry on. Yes, by remounting it is a valuable learning experience.
But there is this grey area. What if you have what appears to be a simple fall. Rider maintains control of their horse, and appears to be fine. What if they have a concussion? Sometimes symptoms do not appear right away. What if there was a REASON for the fall - did the horse stop because he is in pain? Are horse and rider overfaced? (in which case letting them continue may put them in more danger).
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| unplanned dismount |
Here is my opinion. I have to agree with keeping the one-fall rule. I know that if WHEN I fall off out on cross country (for the love of all things holy I hope I do not fall off in the dressage ring), I have no doubt I would bow out. Even if it is a silly fall. There's probably a reason for it, and a USEF event is not the place to work out my issues. It is a horse show. The point is to stay on your horse. If you fall off, too bad. Time to go home, fix it and try again another day. Or try at a schooling show. Work things out there. That is just my personal opinion. That's why we have schooling shows and non-rated horse trials. Although, even at those I think you should listen to people's advice if they feel you should be done for the day. I know I sound a little harsh. Even while I was in saddleseat land, if someone fell off during a class - they were allowed to remount and continue the class. MANY times still placing high in the class! I'm sorry, but you FELL OFF. I just don't see how that ranks you above other competitors who mastered the most basic skill of riding that day. They stayed on!
Correct me I'm wrong but, I BELIEVE you can fall off on cross country in between jumps and you can remount and continue. (For instance if your horse bucks you off). This seems silly to me. A fall is a fall.
Thoughts?
Can't say if I have a strong opinion. Simply because I have ever been in those situations and don't really know how I feel on the subject. You are correct that if you fall off on course and have not yet presented to a jump you may remount and continue.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is not real strong on this issue. When I started eventing if you fell a jump judge would help you remount if you wanted and off you went.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that if the horse falls you are done. To many possibilities of damage that could suddenly cause problems later in the course. Horses are prey animals and many could get up and run a long way after a fall before feeling any damage.
Rider falls leave me changing back and forth. If I do something stupid, take a simple tumble and want to get back on I think I should. OTOH I have seen riders stunned by a simple fall who obviously should not get back on right that minute. The sport has changed so much in the last 30 years, I suppose this is probably a change that will be left in place. Given the opportunity to make rule changes, this probably would not be at the top of my list.
Here is my problem(s) with this "safety" rule --
ReplyDeleteIf you fall off in warmup, between fences, in the stabling, in dresage -- you are not eliminated.
Data shows no increase in "safety" or reduction in injury due to this rule. In the massively rare instances where someone was concussed and then died later in the day, riding or not riding would have had no change in the outcome.
The vast majority of falls do not result in any type of head injury.
But my BIGGEST beef: should you fall off on course at a jump, you are done WITH THAT HORSE. If you have multiple horses, you can hop right back on the next horse. If you are an ammy with one horse, well, sorry, your money is gone, no more riding for you. But if you are Boyd or Buck or Phillip, go ahead and hop on the next beastie and continue your day.
Summary -- the rule has nothing to do with safety and is a farce.
We have an interesting issue with that rule out in the wild (and very spread out) west.
ReplyDeleteNamely, events are hundreds of miles apart and cost hundreds of dollars to enter. XC are uncommon at best. That means that if I, TSB, decided to trailer to an event, it would be a minimum of 6 hours away. Then I would pay lots of money in gas, food, stabling, and entry fees. Then I pop off mayhaps on XC, and am eliminated.
It's stupid. I'm all for safety, but I'm with eventer 79 on this one.
Though I do think a horse fall is always cause for MR.
I agree with the rule, %100 but I think they should go even further and if you fall - you are done for the day, or at least until you are checked by a qualified medic. Maybe we need to spend more money on the emergency at shows...extreme sports always have LEGIT emergency help on site.
ReplyDeleteIn Ontario if you fall off in warm up, you can not get back on until you are checked out by the medic.
If you watch the old Burghley and Badminton videos, you can see many many falls where the riders get back on and are clearly disoriented. They often fall off again later on course.
If it saves one life of a horse or rider, then it is a good rule.
Don't fall off. It's that simple. It's not worth the risk to continue.
ReplyDelete