Ryan Wood and D-Day Vant Plantanenhof at Plantation Field. Photo by Curran Simpson.
As our sport evolves and cross country courses become a different
type of test than days gone by, it is natural that concerns arise about
how we design that phase and how much of an influence it has on the
sport as a whole. We have been hearing from national and international
federations, and occasionally a competitor feels that it is necessary to
step up and make a statement about specific courses, but rarely do we
get the owner’s perspective.
Curran Simpson owns D-Day Van Plantanenhof, a Belgian Warmblood
gelding who competes at the two-star level with Ryan Wood, and wrote in
with his thoughts on course design in 2014, as well as the changing
tides in the sport in general. As always, thank you for reading, and
thank you Curran for sharing your thoughts with us. And be sure to weigh
in with a comment below.
From Curran:
As an owner of an upper level horse, I feel compelled to comment on
the recent Plantation Field International Horse Trials, which I view as a
huge success. I have increasingly paid attention to course design and
conditions as they relate to the health and safety outcomes for both
rider and horse. Too many horses, including mine, have been subjected to
trappy courses that cause injury and loss of confidence.
Recent articles have referenced an acceptable outcome
from a four-star event in which 30 percent of the horses are
eliminated, 30 percent of the horses have at least one refusal and the
remainder finish clear. In the three-star at Plantation, 87 percent of
the horses completed the cross country phase, with 68 percent finishing
with no jump penalties.
The winners were defined by the ability to make the time. As an owner
that cares deeply about the health and safety of the horse and rider, I
can’t help but contrast the results from this year versus 2013, with
many of the same horses involved.
Spectators and owners do not enjoy watching horses fail to negotiate
jumps in a dangerous way. When an accident occurs, we often lose the
valuable volunteers that keep the sport running once they see the tragic
consequences of poor riding or course design that creates dangerous
situations.
I was particularly stuck by an event this summer in which an up bank
coming out of the water had a large 6×6 wood fixture placed at the top
of the bank. I watched several horses struggle to clear that element,
and then watched a horse that is considered one of the top Preliminary
horses going fracture an ankle as it attempted to clear this obstacle.
Logs placed at the entrance or exit of any water obstacle force the
horse to either awkwardly land into the water or stumble out of it. The
stress this creates on soft tissue is unacceptable. When asked about
the need for these types of questions, the answer I typically get is
that they are required to prepare a horse for a three-star or four-star
event. This seems like a high price to pay to prepare a horse.
The CIC3* course design at Plantation by Mike Etherington-Smith was
something to be modeled by other course designers. The horses and riders
were challenged by obstacles that encouraged forward riding and in
cases of trouble resulted in runouts rather than a significant number of
rider or horse falls.
Recent statistics have shown
that the overall rate of accidents has not decreased, even though
rotational falls have. I applaud the use of frangible pins and modern
fence technology to reduce the number of rotational falls. I believe the
next step is to ensure course designers are qualified in partnership
with senior designers that have a track record of ensuring safe,
well-designed courses. Otherwise, as my Father once said, “you get what
you pay for.”
My personal response in 2014 is to carefully review with my trainer
(I have purchased over 40 entries this year), the course designer and
event safety history before I enter. I believe the sport should rally to
improve the quality of events. Entries in 2014 have reached historic
highs at key events, providing growth to a sport that badly needs it.
Having safe events is critical to sustaining this momentum.
