Reflecting on the future for eventing following the fatal accident at Bicton International Horse Trials (2024)

With Cooley Business Time at Burghley in 2015 ©Harveywetdog

For some reason I’ve always been aware of Georgie Strang, or Georgie Campbell as she became. Don’t ask me why; I must have videoed thousands of eventers over the years so why some should stick in my mind is beyond me. There was no doubt Georgie on a horse was photogenic; neat, compact with a no nonsense colour scheme and proficient riding style that the lens responded well to. But there is also an enigmatic quality to an image of Georgie that remains just that, enigmatic.

On a cross country course Georgie always looked hard and professional to me - eventing is a serious business and needs to be taken seriously. So it wasn’t until Bicton in late 2023 that I videoed Georgie in a prize giving and saw the other side of this bubbly, modest woman, proud of her horse and the win he had given her.

With Red Hot Cooley at Great Witchingham International 2018 ©Harveywetdog

Life will go on without her because it must; but it won’t be quite the same will it?

Are we aware of the risks?

I try to avoid using the word dangerous when describing equestrian sport; but if the definition of dangerous is “able or likely to cause injury” then we have to accept that equestrian sport is dangerous. We can do much to mitigate the risks involved but ultimately living with, or sitting on, half a ton of animal with a mind of its own can never be risk free.

We all know that; the waits in A and E, the broken bones, the pain killers, shattered dreams and crocked backs as we creak into old age are a constant reminder. But still we come back for more and admire and encourage those who line up to take our places.

We willingly accept that equine safety is our number one priority, knowing that the horses don’t have a say in whether they compete or not. The jeopardy is part of the thrill of cross country, but while we don’t mind a rider taking the occasional ducking we want to be able to applaud loudly when the screens come down and horse and rider walk away safe and sound to compete another day.

Frangible technology in use on a corner fence at Bicton 2023 ©Harveywetdog

At Bicton we were starkly reminded that sometimes they don’t. Suddenly the language of Eventing changes and we are talking about Police Investigations, Coroners Inquests, debating rotational falls and frangible fences and wondering if we’re taking rider safety seriously enough. We are putting mechanisms in place to protect those affected by the shock and the aftermath. Into a world that has demonstrated that it doesn’t really grasp the concept of societal risk, or wholly accept equestrian sport as a concept, we add another dimension, the obvious risk to human life.

There will be some who will say enough is enough, I want no further part in this. That’s fair enough; you need full commitment if you’re going to jump full height fences travelling at over 500m per minute. For those of who still believe in the sport, it is essential that we look for lessons to be learned from this accident and that action is taken to reduce the risk of it happening again in the future.

Time to revisit the risks?

I know I’ve banged on about ALARP before (as low as reasonably practicable), but 30 years in the civil nuclear industry does that to you. Everything in life comes with risk, but risks can be mitigated. If by spending more money you can make something safer then you should seriously consider spending it or be able to demonstrate that the costs heavily outweigh the benefits. These are not straight forward decisions to make, especially when budgets are tight, but we have to ensure that people’s perception of risk to horse and rider from equestrian sport remains that it is broadly acceptable.

The ALARP Triangle and our perception of risk

Areas I would expect to be investigated include the positioning of the water complex near the start of course (Fence 5ABC), the downhill approach and jumping towards the sun. Of course the key question is could 5B have been frangible? I believe that as a large natural log it doesn’t need to be and, as we had two of the four U.K. experts on frangible technology present at Bicton, I’m going to assume it complied with the rules but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t re-examine the rules to ensure they remain valid.

When we discussed 5ABC at the 2023 Media Day we were told that the horses always made a good shape over timber and that it was very obvious to them what the question is. As the shoulder, log and skinny out were all in a straight line it wasn’t expected to present any problems; and in fairness I’ve videoed the combination being jumped on many occasions (at 4*S and 3*L) and it hasn’t presented any serious issues. Horses have refused and then jumped 5B after representing, horses have got the stride to 5B wrong but still got over it, riders have gone through the combination faster than common sense possibly dictates (to me), but nothing to suggest what was going to happen on Sunday.

Legacy

So what will the legacy be from this tragic accident? If we are to learn from it we must be prepared to investigate the cause openly and objectively and be prepared to listen to our “critical friends”. There are already calls for all cross country obstacles to be made frangible. If fence design is found to be a contributing factor this issue will come into focus again. Have we seen the end of solid timber fences?

As I write we are told that British Eventing have commissioned research into rider speed and falls based upon using the unfortunately named Catapult technology. (BE were at pains to point out that they had already commissioned the research prior to "recent events"). While this has all the makings of a solution looking for a problem to solve in the world of the equestrian, at least it shows we are thinking about these things.

"I would further suggest that BE indicate how we, as a learning organisation, intend to act on the data instead of apparently presenting it as a fait accompli"

Of course British Eventing might already have suspected they had a problem with rider safety when they highlighted an adverse trend in their safety KPIs** for 2023 in the March/April edition of "British Eventing Life". Although my primary concern was that the safety report said nothing about equine safety, when I wrote to Rosie Williams, suggesting that BE indicate how they “intend to act on the data”, I was given a dismissive “Thanks for your feedback noted”.

Rider Safety KPIs in the red? British Eventing Life March/April 2024

We can only hope that they do more than simply note the findings of the Bicton inquiry.

Georgie flying with Ascot H at Great Witchingham International in 2018 ©Harveywetdog

Finally, the one video that has become my tribute to Georgie

**It is worth noting that the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) figures presented in "British Eventing Life" do not match those presented in the full 2023 Safety Report currently on the BE website. The Safety Report does not show an adverse trend in KPIs and at the time of writing I did not know which set of figures was correct. I have since been told that a software error led to the number of starts initially being under reported and the figures in the safety report are correct (not the magazine numbers).

KPI 1 as per the Safety Report BE Website Download

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------