Profiling fallers in national eventing competition

Abstract

Numerous fatalities have occurred in the sport of evening over the last number of years. An increased risk of falling has been reported based on fence design (Murray et al., 2004b, Murray et al. 2005, Stachurska et al., 2010), rider knowledge of leading the competition and their perception of pace prior to the fall (Murray et al., 2004b). No research to date has considered the competition profile of the horse, the rider and the horse & rider partnership. The aim of this research was to explore the competition profile of all cross-country falls in Eventing Ireland (EI) competitions in the 2011 to 2014 seasons, by analysing the number of cross country starters, number of fallers, competition level, type-of-fall (rider fall/ horse fall). Competition profile variables analysed included: upgrading horse, upgrading rider, new partnership, new season, cross-country penalties prior to fall, cross country profile of horse. There were 27,176 cross-country starts and 643 falls recorded in the timeframe (1 fall per every 42 starters). There was variation in the frequency and type of falls across competition levels, with a higher instance of rider falls in Junior (2.0%) and Amateur (1.8%) level competition and a higher instance of horse falls in CNC2 (0.9%) level competition. Of all falls, 40% involved an upgrading horse, 24% involved an upgrading rider, 36% involved a new partnership and 51% were starting a new competitive season. In an attempt to reduce the risk of cross-country falls and while further research is warranted, these findings would indicate a need for better preparation/training of horses and riders prior to upgrading, when establishing new partnerships and in advance of starting their competitive eventing season.