2 Women Hurt When Horse Jumps Into Announcer's Booth At Horse Show

[matcom]

<snip>

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Two women were hospitalized with broken bones Tuesday night after a horse leapt a dividing wall and climbed into the announcer's booth at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show at The Red Mile.

The women work for the junior league, said Lisa Atkins, the event's publicity chairwoman. Citing privacy laws, she declined to name the women or give details of their injuries.

They were among four people in the announcer's booth when an American saddlebred named Our Axel Rose jumped over a wall -- about two feet high -- that separates the show ring at the harness racing track from the judges' and spectators' area.

His rider was not on the horse because they had completed the competition and were waiting for the class winner to be announced.

"I think he was just spooked, and he saw the booth with the light on, and it made him think of his stall," said Peter Doubleday, the announcer who also manages horse shows nationally. "That's a horse's sanctuary, and I think he thought, 'I'm going to go in here and take it easy.' "

The horse stumbled as he entered the booth through a door and fell to his knees. As the horse lay flailing, Doubleday exited through the door.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/SPORTS08/707120524/1002/SPORTS

[Hugin]

1. "Our Axel Rose"

:rofl:

[wildhorses]

2. the rider should not have left the horse unattended.

weird :wtf:

of course it is weird, matcom posted it, duh :dunce:

[CottonBear]

3. I think she was dismounted and holding the horse by its reins.

That is a weird event. I've seen horses get loose at horse shows but they've never jumped into a building.

[wildhorses]

5. were you there?

i would like to know more details. i have been to the junior league show at the red mile. it is not the best venue. the turns are too sharp. surely, this was not a junior horse?

[CottonBear]

7. No. i wasn't there. n/t

[wildhorses]

9. i have seen some bizarre things happen around horses.

oh well. good talking with you :hi:

[CottonBear]

10. I was at a horse show and a stallion got loose and tried to mount a mare

with a red ribbon in her tail (kicker) tied to a trailer. Dealer, a little chestnut quarter horse who belonged to my trainer, kicked him hard square in the chest, then he ran away and almost climbed the hood of my car! The owner managed to get a rope on him and subdue him. It was wild for a few minutes.

I've seen a few horses get loose and run around but nothing bad happened. My horse spooked and got away from me at a foxhunting seminar at the local hunt grounds. I was tacking him up and then he spooked and took off across a huge field. It was SO embarassing. The whipper-in and another member of the hunt retrived him for me.
:blush:

The horse in the story is a Saddlebred. I know that saddle seat rings are sometimes built differently than hunter-jumper rings (rectangular). Don't they have rounded corners? I've never been to a saddleseat show but I've ridden some saddlebreds. I know that some of them can be high strung.

[skygazer]

13. Do you hunt?

My favorite thing to do ever. I used to ride with a drag hunt in Vermont - what a ball that was! I had a 28 year old Morgan - 16 h.h., tall for a Morgan - and he adored hunting. To the point where as soon as he heard the hounds arriving, he'd start to tremble and sweat. It took everything I had to keep him from passing the fieldmaster which is, of course, an unforgiveable faux pas.

We also whipped in a couple of times which was great. He was such a good guy - foundered at the age of 33 and we nursed him along for as long as we could but had to let him go in the end. :(

He was a Nationals level hunter/jumper in his day - I rode him in some local shows in his old age. This is he and I going over a baby fence - you can see how much extra clearance he had. That boy loved to jump.

Incidentally, he started out as a driving horse and had a bad accident at the New England Morgan Show one year - never drove again but he was a great hunter/jumper.

[CottonBear]

15. I would love to but my horse hasn't been started under saddle yet.

I went to the hunt seminar a few years ago and then we rode out in groups (I did walk trot because my horse (who has since passed away :( )was nervous.

I want to find a suitable horse and go on a hunt this fall. The Shakerag Hounds is the local hunt here in my part of Georgia. I would just do hill topping as I haven't jumped in years and never out on a hunt course but rather only in the hunter show ring.

I hope to train for dressage. I'm getting to old to fall off while jumping!

Great picture and what a lovely horse! 33 is very old! He must have been a great horse! Morgans are so nice!

A friend of mine rode with the Belle Meade Hunt once and her horse was so excited and fast that she had to keep riding and circling BACK in order not to pass the fieldmaster! She said she rode twice as far as everyone else and was exhausted byt he end of the day!

[wildhorses]

16. at the red mile they don't use the whole track iirc

it is cut down and makes the oval 'tighter'. saddlebreds are 'highstrung'. very alert and super aware of their surroundings. i love them, though. once in a training ring reared up and continued to throw his head back so far back then he bent his back knees down (squatted) and sprung up jumping about 4 feet in the air and came down SPLAT on his back and head!!! we got him up. he shook it off but, i bet that horse was never right again. he came down HARD.

[CottonBear]

21. Holy cow! No wonder he wasn't right again. I've never heard of such a move.

He did a back flip! :scared: Poor horse. :(

I knew a Saddlebred breeder. She showed at the really big shows. Her horses were really nice but I prefer Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds and warmbloods myself. The saddlebreds are very pretty horses - sort of the super models of the horse world!

[wildhorses]

22. yeah, they are gorgeous and more athletic than people give

them credit. i would love to have a 5 gaited. LOVE IT :woohoo: i need about 17 hands though, cos i am 5'-10"

[peekaloo]

4. kinda sad that Axel Rose now has to enter these kind of contests. No wonder

he went crazy.

:hide:

[matcom]

6. hey it beats playing the Tulsa VFW

:rofl:

[skygazer]

8. I've seen several gnarly accidents at horse shows

People think of horse shows as a bunch of prissy people with funny hats bouncing around on horses - there are some crazy things that can happen.

The worst was in a carriage class - one of the horses spooked for no reason, bolted, the carriage bounced and the driver, a woman I knew, was thrown out, hit the ground HARD, and didn't move. I was sure she was dead.

The horse was careening around the ring with the whites of her eyes showing and every bounce that carriage made scared her even more. My friend was in the class - he husband ran in to head her horse (grab the bridle and hold it), her mom, a paramedic, ran in to assist the woman and I headed for the loose horse.

Got to her just as she launched herself at the fence around the ring - she went down in a tangle of broken rails, I jumped on her head to keep her down, pulled out my pocketknife and cut her out of the harness.

The woman was in a coma for a week, had several broken bones, the horse had some cuts and lacerations and was pretty well ruined for carriage driving. Luckily no one else was hurt.

[CottonBear]

11. Yikes! You were really brave. That must have been scary.

I'm thinking about training my horse to drive. Apparently, it can be as dangerous as riding.
Maybe I'll just ride her.

[skygazer]

12. I don't know about brave - it was pure reaction

I've ridden and owned horses all my life and worked for a vet for years so there's a lot of instinct there, I guess.

Driving can be more dangerous than riding. You have more control when you're on a horse than when you're behind it. When you're riding, you can use your legs and seat as well as your hands and voice to calm your horse - having that carriage behind them adds a whole new dimension. Horses are leery of having anything behind them.

That said, driving is really fun and can be great competitively as well. It's just a matter of taking it really slow and making sure the horse is well grounded and obedient to commands. And of course, having a sensible horse in the first place - the horse in this incident was kind of skittish to begin with, she was rather young and hadn't been in harness very long. I was surprised to see her at the show and not really surprised to see her bolt, unfortunately. :hi:

[CottonBear]

14. I'm going to take driving lesson with a woman who owns Belgian show horses!

They are truly gentle giants!

Then, I may get her to train my Oldenburg mare to drive. We have to find a trained to drive horse of her same size to team her with for training. I have to train her to ride first!

I went to the harness (pacing and trotting) races down in Hawkinsville, GA last fall and it was fun to watch but it did look dangerous!

Happy trails! I'm going to see my horse this evening! :hi:

[auburngrad82]

17. We had a saddlebred until January

We sold him to a girl who is a much better rider than we are. He damn near killed me when he was two years old. I was on him and he spooked. Ran through three fences and I hit a wooden post head on. First and only ambulance ride. He's a great horse but saddlebreds can be very high strung and they can spook easily. He was way too much horse for me or for my wife. We still ride but now it's just the lesson horses.

[CottonBear]

18. Oy! That must have hurt. Glad you're OK.

I always wear a helmet when I ride.

I used to ride a super sweet and laid back saddlebred named Silk Stockings. He was a hunter equitation horse and not a Saddlebred show horse. His canter was wonderful! :)

[skygazer]

20. A friend of mine has a TB/Saddlebred cross gelding

What a nice horse he is! 16.2 and gaits like velvet. Bright chestnut. And very sensible.

Now, his TB mare, on the other hand is a bit of a rodeo. Not mean in the least but strong and hot. I've sailed off her more than once and have the gamey leg to prove it. :hi:

[skygazer]

19. I'm glad you're okay

That's scary - I was run away with once and it was no fun at all. The horse I was on spooked at some turkeys and took off - ran about 3 miles downhill. Bit in the teeth, could not dislodge it, dense woods on both sides of the dirt road.

I finally hauled on one rein and dragged him sideways into the woods, sure I was going to die. He crashed to a stop and I never had another problem with him but it was a freaky and frightening experience. And I'm an extremely experienced rider.

Horses are big strong creatures and sometimes they don't realize what they're doing. Other times they do realize and that's when they're really dangerous - when they learn that they're a lot stronger than the person on their back.

I love 'em, though. :hi: