Charlotte Dujardin and Mount St John Freestyle took another decisive leap towards World Equestrian Games team selection with an international grand prix personal best at Bolesworth International Horse Show.
Charlotte and Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old Fidermark mare scored just a fraction under 80%, claiming victory on 79.65% ahead of Carl Hester and Hawtins Delicato.
Just a missed one-time change marred an otherwise delightful test from Freestyle, who produced her most confident grand prix performance to date.
“I can’t believe I missed the 80% by just 0.5%,” exclaimed Charlotte afterwards. “As I was riding the ones I was thinking that they felt great and so off the floor, then straight away had the mistake. But there’s so many more marks in there; she’s such a trier. Whatever arena I take her into I know she’ll perform.”
It proved a day of personal bests, with Carl and the ever-improving Diamond Hit son Delicato also banking an international personal best of 77.22% for second. In third was Gareth Hughes, who produced a classy test on the 12-year-old Trento B mare Classic Briolinca. He completed a trio of British personal bests, with 74.44%.
Charlotte continued her tally of wins with the inter I freestyle victory, scoring a whopping 80.28% to finish well ahead of the chasing pack on her own and Paul and Wendy Dockley’s dainty eight-year-old grey mare Florentina (Flora, Vivaldi x Rubels).
Michael Eilberg claimed second, with 73.48% on Daltrey, while Jacqueline Wing Ying Siu slotted into third for Hong Kong with Jockey Club Fuerst On Tour.
It was Charlotte and Flora’s second small tour victory in five days, having arrived at Bolesworth fresh from their prix st georges (PSG) win at Wellington Premier League on Saturday night, and also topping the Bolesworth PSG on Tuesday.
“I’ve lacked ring experience with her – we’ve done lots of training at home and very little competing, so I’ve wanted to get her out and work on the ringcraft with her,” said Charlotte, who also won the six-and seven-year-old classes earlier in the day with Hawtins San Floriana and River Rise Nisa respectively.
Don’t miss our full report from Bolesworth in the next week’s issue of Horse & Hound, out on 21 June.
The Suffolk horse is rarer than the giant panda with the number of breeding mares left in the UK estimated…
Her sire is the stately Shotleyfield Dazzling Duke, who has been a dominant force in the stallion showing classes recently.
The Phillips have decided to keep June and hopefully breed from her in future to help safeguard Suffolk horse numbers.
According to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) last year there were just 15 filly foals registered and only 10 colts.
The rare Suffolk horse is registered as critical with the RBST with only 80 registered breeding mares.
Beth Fernley, RBST press officer described June’s arrival “as brilliant news.”
“We at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust are over the moon to hear of the arrival of Kelsale June. Last year on our Danger List of rare breed farm animals and equines we recorded that only 15 Suffolk filly foals were registered. We wish her and her owners Jackey and Trevor every good wish,” she said.
In this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out on Thursday 28 June 2018, don’t miss our full report from the Hickstead Derby meeting, including all the showjumping and showing action, plus don’t miss our six-page report from Royal Ascot.
We also have a feature on the much discussed whip rules across the disciplines and in this week’s ‘Vet clinic’ we find out how to spot the signs of sand colic.
“I’m pretty sure the only reason I wasn’t killed was because I was wearing my helmet,” said Megan Richman (not pictured). “I’m lucky that I was wearing it because the train pretty much cracked it into eight different pieces.”
There are some decisions you look back on and wonder what would have happened had you chosen a different option. For 26-year-old Megan, she’s gone through all the “what ifs” and “should haves” repeatedly the past two months. But things remain the same — she’s still alive.
On the evening of 10 June, Megan had just finished her small animal emergency rotation at the University of California at Davis’s School of Veterinary Medicine when she decided to go for a ride on her 19-year-old Arabian, Red. She also took her young Irish Setter, Sunny, with her, as always, to help get some energy out of her.
“I was debating on whether I should ride or not because I had clinics the next morning, but I pretty much decided I would go for a short ride,” said Megan. “So, I tacked up and hit the trail.”
Shortly before that day, her father, himself a small animal vet based in Highland Heights, Ohio, had given Megan a lecture about wearing her helmet.
“My dad had just lectured me a month before about how much my brain was worth and how much they’re paying for education and how I needed to wear my helmet, even if I was going for a short ride,” she recalled. “He reminded me how expensive everything is, and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s kind-of true.’”
She made the decision to put on her Troxel helmet before she got onto Red to begin their ride.
There are a few different trails (hacking routes) that leave from the livery yard Megan keeps her horse at in Davis, California, so she chose the one that headed towards a sunflower field… and a set of railway tracks. It was 7pm on a Sunday, so Megan figured the trains had finished running for the day. She had ridden this route before, and knew how you had to climb up the trail to get onto a road near the tracks. She also knew the trains were used to horses and riders alongside, so she felt comfortable with this route.
She made the decision to ride along the railway tracks for a prettier view.
All was normal until Sunny, the young dog, took off after something Megan hadn’t seen. Sunny started running up the road and onto the tracks. Knowing that her horse had osteoarthritis, she knew he couldn’t handle the rough terrain of the road at a pace faster than a trot, so she decided to tie him to a gate at the top of the road and took off on foot for Sunny.
The road starts off straight in one direction, then turns perpendicular towards the pair of railway tracks. On one set, coming in her direction, was a passenger train. In the distance, she could hear another train coming from the opposite direction. As she struggled to catch up with Sunny, she started waving down the driver of the passenger train. Sunny continued onto a short bridge, and Megan continued after her, determined not to let her dog get hit.
“My dog was not listening. I’m not sure if she was chasing something or what was going on, but she just kept running,” said Megan. The passenger train driver continued to blow his horn at Megan, though she’s not sure if he ever saw Sunny.
Sprinting as far to the side of the bridge from the track as possible, Megan had almost grabbed the lead rope she had clipped to Sunny’s collar when the train clipped her.
“I didn’t grab my dog in time,” she said. “I was two steps away from her…”
When the train hit Megan’s left arm, she fell face forward, into the gravel that supported the train tracks. “My left eye was literally right next to the railroad tracks as the train was passing,” she recalled. “It was pretty horrifying. I thought I was going to die.”
Still alert, Megan rolled to her right side to get away from the track. “I didn’t hear the train hit my dog. I didn’t hear anything.”
Luckily, Sunny had jumped off to the right before the train made impact, at about the same moment the train hit Megan.
“I’m pretty sure people on the train saw me get hit because it was still daylight,” she said. “I tried to stand up, but temporarily blacked out and fell back down.”
Megan’s cracked helmet
Once Megan came to, she saw that her left arm and leg were soaked in blood. Her left olecranon (the tip of the elbow) was poking out from her skin, but she couldn’t tell what else was broken, except that her legs were fine.
Through all of this, her horse stayed where he was tied and waited for her to slowly limp back to him. Megan tried to get back on Red to ride for help — she hadn’t taken her mobile phone because she wanted to “avoid the world” during her ride. Attempting to pull herself up with her left arm on the horn of her Western saddle, Megan gasped in extreme pain and fell back down. She sat under Red and screamed for help for 15 minutes until a fisherman heard her pleas and called 911.
Upon examination at the trauma centre in Sacramento, Megan was found to have fractured her left wrist, have five separate fractures in her radius and ulna, a compound fracture of her olecranon, part of her triceps muscle torn off and a scapulae fracture, all on the left side of her body. She had a few lacerations to her left abdomen and hip area and the left side of her face was black and blue from hitting the gravel.
But the main thing that wasn’t severely injured from the accident? Her skull.
“I’m pretty sure the only reason I wasn’t killed was because I was wearing my helmet,” said Megan. “I’m lucky that I was wearing it because the train cracked it into eight different pieces. They didn’t find anything abnormal on my head CT scan.”
A record number of retailers are expected to take part in this year’s International Helmet Awareness Day
Because Megan chose to wear her helmet, she continues to choose her path in life.
Now, just two months after the accident, Megan is already back to finish her last year of vet school. Her left arm is in a sling and she’s balancing physical therapy with university work and clinical rotations. She’s permanently banished Sunny from the yard, and while she still can’t ride for another month, she’s already ordered a new helmet.
“I’m incredibly lucky, I don’t know how it turned out this way that everything is okay, but I’m still alive. I’m here.”
Hundreds of tack shops in 25 countries are offering special two-day only discounts on helmets on 18-19 August for Riders4Helmets’ International Helmet Awareness Day. Visit this link to locate a participating retailer near you.
This article has been shared exclusively with Riders4Helmets by the American Quarter Horse Journal.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
One of Qatar’s leading showjumpers Sheikh Ali Ben Khalid Al Thani will this week be competing at the final of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) in Doha (8-10 November) in his home country. Ahead of this end-of-season championship, the member of the Qatari royal family has spoken about the sometimes high-pressure life of a showjumper.
“What motivates me every day is to be successful,” said the rider, who finished sixth individually at the 2016 Olympics. “I work hard, I train and I go to the gym before riding. I have a programme and a plan of where I want to be. But success to me is defined as making my country proud — to bring home medals for Qatar and to represent my country against the best of the best. My dream is to win a LGCT grand prix, and to bring home an Olympic medal for Qatar, particularly as a team.”
Explaining his role as an ambassador for a sport that is soaring in popularity in Qatar he says: “The feeling is we want to do our very best for our country and show our people and country that our team are working hard in Europe and heading in the right direction.
“I really love to inspire. I am from the royal family so there is attention on my name, so I have to prove that we are working hard and anyone can achieve great things. I love the sport that I do — but it all started with a love of horses. I loved horses before I loved the sport.”
The 2020 Olympics is a key target for the Qatari showjumpers and the riders have been using the Global Champions League team championship, rather than Nations Cups, as preparation.
“We are working towards a programme for Tokyo, so we have had to slow down a little and it’s one of the reasons we decided to put [British rider] Michael Whitaker in our Doha Fursan Qatar GCL team as he has many of his own fantastic horses,” said Sheikh Ali Al Thani.
“The sport has totally changed — the level, how technical it is, the way of the sport is very different and the vision is totally different, so we need to improve our team. We need to stay jumping at the highest level, within the Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL shows — to help our team improve. Qatar is a small country — we cannot go for a lot of Nations Cups so the GCL team competition is helping our national showjumping team. We feel the pressure at every event exactly the same as the Olympics.”
Naturally, he is quick to praise the LGCT president Jan Tops for developing the sport of showjumping.
“He is a visionary — he sees this and helps to grow it in the best way,” he said. “Every year something on the LGCT and GCL is changing. Now we have the GC Playoffs. Before that we had no teams, and now we have had the GCL for three years. You don’t know what’s coming up, but it’s getting more and more interesting.
“We are very excited, and see more and more people from Qatar and around the world following us. I used to go for dinner with people outside the sport who asked what I was doing — they had no idea what showjumping really was. But now, even those who are not in the sport know what it is and really get it.
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“I’m really looking forward to building our team for Qatar,” said the passionate sportsman. “This is really my mission. But to do this we have to train now, and we have to prove we can do it. We did this already at the 2016 Olympics in Rio — it was the first time we were one point away from the final, and we had an individual rider finish sixth which is a big result for Qatar. We know we can do it, now it is not just about showing Qatar in a good way, it’s about bringing home some medals.”
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Tom McEwen and Strike Smartly at Blair 2018. Picture by Jim Crichton
Elite event riders Tom McEwen and Daisy Berkeley have paid tribute to Strike Smartly, a horse who “always had a smile on his face” who has had to be put down aged 12.
The grey Irish sport horse gelding died last weekend (6 January) as a result of complications caused by colic.
Tom, who rode “Paddy” to victory at Chatsworth CIC3* and Cappoquin CCI3* in 2017, as well as completing the horse’s first Badminton on 2018, described him as “one in a million, who would give his heart to everything he did, asking for nothing in return except his food”.
“Last year at his first Badminton he scored three 10s in his dressage and thoroughly enjoyed his cross-country round,” he said. “We are sure that he would have had a huge future in this amazing sport of eventing.
“He will leave a deep hole in Team McEwen. However, he will be even more acutely missed by his owner Penny Barker who rode him regularly and followed his successes with a passion.
“I feel privileged to have been allowed to ride such an amazing horse and the team were honoured to have looked after Paddy who was the most genuine, kind and honest person, we think we will ever meet. We are all heartbroken.”
Daisy, who had Paddy as a four-year-old and competed him up to three-star level until Tom took the reins in 2017, said the news was “devastating”.
“He had his life ahead of him,” she told H&H. “He was a wonderful character, with a terrific sense of humour; I’m heartbroken for Fred [Barker] and Penny because they loved him.”
Daisy said Paddy did not show vast talent as a five-year-old but “at six, he really started to show he could become something”. She praised his extravagant movement, and genuine nature, adding that although he was somewhat lacking in straightness as a youngster, “after that, he’d do everything he could to jump within the flags”.
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“He was an absolute sweetie on the ground too,” she added. “He never had his ears back; always had a smile on his face, there wasn’t a bad bone in his body.
“Tom developed a really good relationship with him; he looked a million dollars with Tom,” she said. “The world was their oyster; who knows what they would have done.”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
The welfare charity behind an award-winning campaign combating stigma around strangles is celebrating its first anniversary and hopes poor biosecurity practices can be “consigned to the history books”.
More than 710 owners and 145 yard managers have pledged to join Redwings Horse Sanctuary’s Stamp out Strangles campaign, which provides a free online hub with information on the disease. By pledging, owners and yard managers agree to champion good biosecurity practices and to speak out on the disease.
Redwings campaigns manager Andi Vilela said the charity is “thrilled” with the reaction to the campaign, which launched in November 2018.
“We know people are more likely to make positive, proactive changes if they’ve made a commitment to do so. It’s also encouraged more yards and owners to speak out about their experiences of strangles and the stigma that sadly still exists around this disease, showing that there is a clear appetite for attitudes to change,” she said.
“The more people continue to share that they have pledged, the more we can nudge standards up so that poor hygiene facilities, absent biosecurity protocols or even keeping quiet about an outbreak will all be consigned to the history books. We want to make changes before an outbreak happens.”
Hartpury University and College, which was affected by strangles in 2018, and Richmond Equestrian Centre, which reopened in October after an outbreak, are among the yards to sign up to the campaign.
A spokesman for Redwings said Richmond’s clear communication on the disease and promotion of the Stamp Out campaign has led to more than 130 owners committing to the pledge.
“Throughout their outbreak their dedication to good biosecurity and willingness to share their experiences to educate others makes Richmond Equestrian Centre a shining example for all yards,” said Ms Vilela.
Yards and individual owners are invited to sign up to the initiative, on Saturday 6 July, to show support for
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“Their openness has not only challenged the stigma around strangles, but has demonstrated to everyone the value they place on protecting their horses from infectious disease – reflected in the amazing support they’ve received from their local equestrian community. We’re delighted that we were able to help support the centre through this very challenging time and look forward to continuing to work with the team there to raise further awareness.”
As part of the campaign the charity held a strangles symposium in March, presented to scientists in Iceland in May and held the first Speak Out on Strangles day 6 July. The spokesman added that the year is not finished yet.
“In December Redwings will be organising a free veterinary seminar for horse owners in South Wales and plans are already under way to make Speak Out On Strangles day even bigger next year.”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
Gabby’s desperate appeal to find her “best friend in the world” was shared widely online and the next night, a 15-year-old girl found a “cold and wet” terrier on the side of the road near Lakeside, Essex.
As it was late, the teenager took the dog home, bathed and fed her, and let her sleep on her bed, taking her to a vet the next morning.
“The vet scanned her microchip and we got the call,” Gabby told H&H.
“I was hysterical. I don’t think I’d expected to hear that; I think it was the most amazing day of my life.”
Gabby said the fact the vet could trace Smarty’s owner so quickly underlines the importance of chipping, which is compulsory for dogs and will be for all horses in England from October 2020.
“I’d never really thought about it before; but everything of ours will be microchipped now!” she said.
“The girl who found her had been staying at her grandmother’s with no internet, and it was only when she got home that her parents realised, as they’d seen the posts.
Stolen miniature Shetland pony Megan is returned home after an RSPCA officer notices her freezemark
“This has been the most amazing thing in the world, it’s restored my face in humanity. People have been absolutely brilliant, all the dog lost and found groups and other people posting flyers and sharing them – I can’t thank people enough.”
Smarty looks none the worse for her adventures, Gabby said, adding that she has been given extra food and treats since her return, “exactly what she wants”.
“You accept that one day you’re going to lose them as they’re only lent to us,” she added. “But not that way. She’s been everything to me and not to know if she was suffering or anything; it’s a horrendous feeling and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
“I’m just so happy she’s home.”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
Gabby’s desperate appeal to find her “best friend in the world” was shared widely online and the next night, a 15-year-old girl found a “cold and wet” terrier on the side of the road near Lakeside, Essex.
As it was late, the teenager took the dog home, bathed and fed her, and let her sleep on her bed, taking her to a vet the next morning.
“The vet scanned her microchip and we got the call,” Gabby told H&H.
“I was hysterical. I don’t think I’d expected to hear that; I think it was the most amazing day of my life.”
Gabby said the fact the vet could trace Smarty’s owner so quickly underlines the importance of chipping, which is compulsory for dogs and will be for all horses in England from October 2020.
“I’d never really thought about it before; but everything of ours will be microchipped now!” she said.
“The girl who found her had been staying at her grandmother’s with no internet, and it was only when she got home that her parents realised, as they’d seen the posts.
Stolen miniature Shetland pony Megan is returned home after an RSPCA officer notices her freezemark
“This has been the most amazing thing in the world, it’s restored my face in humanity. People have been absolutely brilliant, all the dog lost and found groups and other people posting flyers and sharing them – I can’t thank people enough.”
Smarty looks none the worse for her adventures, Gabby said, adding that she has been given extra food and treats since her return, “exactly what she wants”.
“You accept that one day you’re going to lose them as they’re only lent to us,” she added. “But not that way. She’s been everything to me and not to know if she was suffering or anything; it’s a horrendous feeling and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
“I’m just so happy she’s home.”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
New Zealand dressage rider John Thompson has withdrawn his 17-year-old Anamour gelding JHT Antonello from the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, North Carolina.
“AJ” flew to the USA from New Zealand in July, and received treatment in Kentucky after not feeling fully fit on arrival. Despite being given the all-clear, the horse has been in discomfort since his arrival at the Games, and has been withdrawn from competition as a result.
“I am absolutely devastated,” said the 28-year-old rider. “This would have to be the lowest point of my competition career. I feel AJ is not 100% after being transported into Tryon, and in the best interest of my mate, we’ve made the decision to withdraw.
“While this is not the end I wanted for our Games, I will take a lot of learning away with me and put that to good use in the future.”
New Zealand will now have just one dressage representative, Julie Brougham and Vom Feinsten.
The British team for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) is in high spirits ahead of the championships, which get underway…
Two riders have been asked to re-present their horses tomorrow after this morning’s dressage trot-up.
Australia’s Alexis Hellyer was sent to the holding box with Bluefields Floreno (pictured above), and after trotting for a second time was asked to re-present the 13-year-old chestnut stallion tomorrow morning before the grand prix gets under way. The remaining Australian team horses were all accepted.
The ride of Portugal’s Vasco Mira Godinho, the 12-year-old grey stallion Bariloche, will also be re-presented tomorrow morning. The Rouxinol son was asked to trot twice today, before being sent to the holding box.
All four British horses — Emile Faurie’s Dono Di Maggio, Carl Hester’s Hawtins Delicato, Charlotte Dujardin’s Mount St John Freestyle (pictured above) and Spencer Wilton’s Super Nova II — sailed through the trot-up and were accepted without problems.
The Japanese team horse Egistar, the ride of Kiichi Harada, was asked to trot twice but was then accepted. Russia’s Inessa Merkulova had a nervous wait as the ground jury deliberated, but her 14-year-old gelding Mister X was accepted.
The first day of grand prix competition gets under way tomorrow (12 September) at 8.45am local time (1.45pm UK time), with the draw taking place this evening.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
Jockey George Baker prior to his ride on Trending in the Download The Ladbrokes App Handicap
Taking My Time is a new book written by former jockey George Baker, and tells the story of his successes in the saddle and adapting to a life out of it following his horror fall while racing on the snow in St Moritz in 2017.
George’s biggest win came when he rode Harbour Law to victory in the Doncaster Classic, the St Leger. Despite his battles with the scales — being unusually tall for a Flat jockey — George’s career as a jockey was going from strength to strength, but when the terrible accident left him with serious head injuries, he was forced to restart his life again. He was the same person, but different.
New obstacles had to be overcome, with the trauma not only physical but also psychological. In this book, the story is told with George’s wit and wisdom for which he is admired, with recollections from his wife Nicola, and those closest to him, about the impact his accident had on them all.
In this extract from the book, George recounts the moment when his life changed forever:
“If someone offers you the chance of a weekend in St Moritz, you jump at it. The Swiss ski resort welcomes the international jet set during the winter, and for us jockeys there is the White Turf, a short series of race meetings on Sundays, held on the frozen lake at the end of the town. The racing is of only a moderate standard, although the prize money isn’t bad, but the main attraction for me was the thought of a good night out afterwards. A few other jockeys had told me that the hospitality and the parties were worth experiencing.
“Adam Kirdby was supposed to be going to St Moritz to ride for the trainer Jamie Osborne and the Melbourne 10 syndicate, who were sending a few horses across. However, his main trainer Clive Cox had a runner at Wolverhampton on the Saturday night which he would be required for, meaning there would not be enough time for him to get there. Jamie rang me while I was having a game of golf with David Probert to ask if I would stand in for Adam. David had heard it was brilliant fun too, so why not give it a try?
“The only person who’d been a bit dubious about the adventure was Joe Fanning, one of the most sensible, father-figure members of the weighing room. ‘You’re mad,’ he said, implying that the racing was something of an acquired taste and not perhaps the safest thing to do.
“Saturday’s racing didn’t go brilliantly. I rode another of Jamie’s horses, Battalion, in the Winter Derby at Lingfield, but he sat down in the stalls, missed the break and didn’t have the best of runs to finish sixth, before I rounded off the day just getting beaten in a handicap on Etaad. From there it was straight to Heathrow on a flight to Zurich and a two-and-a-half-hour taxi journey through the mountains.”
“It was only waking up the next morning that I appreciated the beauty of the place. The very swanky hotel I had been put up in had a view all the way to the track, and the stunning scenery of the snow-covered Alps beyond.
“From what I could tell from the Swiss racecards, it looked as if all of my four rides had a chance, and when I went down to have a walk on the track, it looked great. John Best, who also had runners there that day and had had a winner when they had staged an extra meeting the previous Friday, had been encouraged about how well it had been riding, too. Although you see snow on the surface of the track, you are, of course, racing on ice underneath and around quite tight bends, which is very different to grass or all-weather tracks. Along with conventional racing, there are some races for locals called ‘skijoring’, which is where skiers are pulled along by horses. Apparently they can take a fair bit of punishment from bits of ice being kicked back in front of them.
“I had ridden my first mount of the afternoon, Boomerang Bob, once before a month or so earlier in a little handicap at Lingfield. Although not exactly a superstar, he was a solid sort of horse, and seemed fine on the track when we cantered down to the six-furlong start. I noticed that Dougie Costello’s horse, who was going along in front of me, was stumbling all over the place, and made a mental note not to follow the horse in the race itself, as it looked like it couldn’t pick its feet up.
“My biggest concern down at the start was visibility. A lot of jockeys wear ski masks to prevent snow getting in their eyes, but I had brought a more simple face mask to wear with my usual goggles. I fiddled with it to make sure it was on properly and wouldn’t make everything steam up.
“Jamie hadn’t tied me down with instructions, so I took my time towards the rear of the field, and I can remember making progress down the back straight, which is where the lights go out.
“What I know from this point on is from other people. Two other horses in the race had come down in front of me, and at the time they thought I had gone over one of the horses on the floor and been brought down. It later turned out that poor Boomerang Bob had gone through the ice independently at a point where there was a weakness in the track. He broke a leg and had to be put down.
“It would not have been a pleasant sight for John Best, who had been the first on the scene and raced over to help. Apparently when he got to me I was conscious but wasn’t talking. John thought the best thing was to keep speaking to me, so at least it would be a voice I might recognise, one speaking English rather than French or German. I was staring at him and briefly tried to move, but I wasn’t responding to what he or the medics were saying. The lights were on, but there was no one at home. Then John had to go off to a meeting with the organisers to agree to abandon the event.
“By the time he came back, I’d been put into an induced coma and my eyes had a bit of tape across them to keep them shut. The chief paramedic told John it was standard practice for the type of injury I’d received, and tried to reassure him that they didn’t think I was going to die or anything. Nonetheless, John was very worried, as it was still very serious, and relayed what he found out to Guy [Jewell, George’ s agent], who was passing it on to [George’s wife] Nicola.
“I was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in Chur, about 50 miles north of St Moritz, where they did a brain scan. News came back across to John an hour or two later that the scan was OK at that stage, and they were going to bring me out of the coma.
“From here on, I think it’s better that Nicola takes over the story. As you’ll discover, when I woke up I certainly wasn’t myself, and for the first few days she was the only person to see me.”
Price: £20 hardback, or from £12.10 on Amazon. Published by: Racing Post Books, 2018
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine out every Thursday.
