ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] Riding Tragedies

[endurance] Riding Tragedies

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Fri, 15 Dec 1995 16:41:58 -0500

I've been reading the mail about the two horse people who had accidents this
week. Having experienced the shock of having a person close to me severely
injured by an accident I understand the difficulty for relatives and close
friends of dealing with a tragedy. Because of that as well as a wish to
prolong my life I use care in what I do and that includes wearing my helmet
when riding.

All the discussion about human injuries brought to mind an experience that I
will never forget and that other horse people might understand. A couple of
seasons ago, on a clear, cool, fall morning, a few miles after the start of a
50-mile endurance ride, the whole pack came to a screeching halt. One of the
front runners had a heart attack, fell from his horse, and died. This was an
extremely traumatic thing for everyone there. We all stopped, waited, and
prayed. Medical professionals (an emergency room nurse and other trained
people) were right there taking part in the ride. CPR was started within
seconds while others went back for help, but nothing could save him.

This was a large ride and the pack of limited distance riders was about to
catch up, so all but essential people were urged to go on to avoid congestion.
Many people who no longer felt like riding nevertheless continued on and
completed the ride. I've never been to an awards meeting quite like the one
that followed it. Everyone was visibly shaken. Talk about a ride manager's
worst nightmare and this was it!

Now, the loss of any life is a tragedy and saying the whole thing was very
upsetting is a bad understatement. Nobody wants to see a life cut short.
Thinking back on it over the next few days, though, I came to a conclusion
that I still believe. When my time to go comes I hope that it can be like
that. It was a beautiful, cool day, the rider was running along the trail at
the front of a big ride on a nice horse, doing something that he dearly loved.
He just had to be emotionally at the top of the world! And it was like
closing a book because that was the end of the story. What more could a
person who loves horses and riding want?

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Dave Bennett
e-mail: idj3q.office@mhs-tva.attmail.com
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