A Few Words of Introduction

For my topic I am exploring the dangers of eventing, specifically cross country eventing. For those of you who don't know what eventing is, it is an equestrian sport where horses and their riders jump over a series of fences in a test of speed and accuracy.

One of the reasons I chose this topic was because of my experiences watching eventing at an annual horse show in Devon, Pennsylvania, a tradition my family continues to this day. My mom was also involved with horses when she was younger and while she never competed in events, she knew how to ride and to jump and was - and still is - passionate about horses, a passion she has somewhat passed down to me (though alas, my lack of funds and local lessons has made riding impossible for me).

What also makes the topic of eventing so interesting for me is that there is safety equipment available that would help alleviate many of the dangers that riders face; however, it is not used at many events because of its high expense. This begs the question: How willing are we to save money at the expense of people's safety?

While some may argue that the sport is inherently dangerous, of which there is no doubt, I believe that the organizations that design the courses are putting price tags first and safety second. It is precisely because of the sport's danger that every stop  should be pulled out and every precaution taken. There is simply no excuse as to why such equipment as frangible pins are not a standard part of all fences or why vests designed to inflate upon impact are not available to or required of all riders who compete.

So far, I found two articles about the dangers of cross-country riding (equestrian's most dangerous event). The first article discusses the alarm that swept the riding community in 2008 when prominent rider Darren Chiacchia suffered a traumatic fall from his horse during a cross-country event. Chiacchia was one of twelve equestrian deaths that occurred that year. Many riders are concerned that the courses are being designed for a skilled elite and are too difficult for the majority of riders. Concerns are also being raised over the lack of safety precautions such as frangible pins (which allow part of the fence to fall down if the horse knocks into it) which are often left out of fences because of their $70 price tag. Course designers, on the other hand, argue that the increased amount of the deaths and injuries are due to an influx of inexperienced riders. Chiacchia's accident, they say, was simply a fluke.

The second article is more general in its scope and includes the dangers of uncompetitive horseback riding as well. The information that I found interesting in this article was mention of a study done on injuries sustained in sports, including horseback riding by a spinal injuries consultant. His conclusion appears to support the argument of the course designers in the first article. Another piece of interesting information deals with some of the safety equipment that has been designed for equestrians. I'm not sure whether or not it will be relevant for my topic, but I think for the time being that it is worth noting.