I think there is a lot of consensus about that in the eventing community with exactly the same conclusions -- that these courses are just getting to "trappy" as one of our members said and stressful on our horses.  You are not the only one who's made the decision to stay at Novice until they find a course that won't be too risky.

  I know my guy is bored stiff, he's been ready for 6 months to move up, but hey another 6 will just make him a schoolmaster, lol.  It is VERY trappy, especially in combos that have a bit of uneven terrain, there are some that I wouldn't even school!  Oh well, I guess I'm just going to sit back enjoy my Novice's and watch the braver ones.  In fact, I think I may just start doing some Dressage shows for a while, never hurts.

My condolences to everyone involved with red hills that weekend. Thoughts & prayers for Darren and the horses that have died.

I had no idea that the short format caused so many problems. Granted I'm not an eventer but i thought having technical obstacles was a good thing as it would have riders thinking more and preparing ahead. I had no idea the obstacles were so unforgiving and the consequences so dangerous. Working with horses comes with its risks and I hope they make the necessary changes to improve the safety of the sport.

I hope so too -- so far I've been pleasantly surprised at the response of the USEA president, he's been amazing at correspondance with all members and is personally writing back to every single person that writes to him.  As devastating as these events are, it looks like they have finally been bad and high profile enough for positive change to occur, so I am optimistic about some good results to come from this.

We'll think some good thoughts for Darren. Keep us updated on his progress.....

Suzanne

I've been praying for Darren, his family and his students since the accident but it's good to know he's showing signs of improvement. Thankfully, he was in outstanding physical condition before the fall so that always is a helpful factor.

Secondly, I'd like to comment on how incredibly supportive and helpful the ENTIRE horse industry has been since this happened. He and his farm are not just being supported by eventers -- many people have taken Independence Farm under their wing to keep his business going and support his students and their horses. Robert Dover, world renowned Dressage rider and trainer, taught some lessons the other day as well as the Madden's and Lauren Hough who are Hunter/Jumper people. I think it's an important lesson saying that no matter how many differences each of these disciplines have, no matter how many things we disagree on or how many times we look down on a different discipline, we are all united by a common passion -- and that's horses. I don't see that many problems here on the message boards, but the horse industry is FULL of bad mouthing and backstabbing not just against different disciplines but about their own. We all ride differently -- we all train differently -- our goals are different -- our shows clothes are different -- our tack is different -- our training beliefs are different -- our horsecare is even different ... but what's the same is the most important factor, and that's the love for the horses.

 Another thing I wanted to bring up is about the fences that are currently on the cross-country courses. I rode and trained hunter/jumpers for years before I decided to focus strictly on dressage. I can tell you, that I would NEVER have the guts to do what Darren and his fellow horseman do at that level. However, as a horse lover, I find a problem with some of the jumps that are on these cross country courses. I know course designers are starting to use something along the lines of jump-cups so the fence falls if a horse where to hit it (helping reduce the chance of rotational falls, etc.) and I understand that some types of obstacles CANNOT physically be made with those special pins ... but I feel as though eventing is getting a little ridiculous and entirely unsafe for horse and rider alike. Our course designers are brilliant ... they created beautiful and challenging courses. With that being said, I feel like they need to start putting their heads together to create something that is aimed more at what the origional purpose of eventing used to be (logs, brush, etc.) and not huge solid combinations that are all beauty and creativeness and no safety. I'd like to hear what some of you eventers feel about that ...

 All of that being said, I'm really not sure I will be attending Rolex until the industry figures out how to make this sport a bit safer so we're not losing horses AND riders left and right ...

Yes, they now use frangible pins in as many jumps as possible on XC.  I personally think that if a jump can't be designed to use them, well then, you shouldn't be allowed to build it!  And that is something that is under heavy discussion by USEA right now and I hope the Task Force (that Darren was in charge of ironically enough) decides in favour of safety even if it costs us "pretty" jumps.  I love Bruce Davidson's statement on the USEA website and his challenge to make courses challenging, but FAIR -- not trappy like they have become.  These courses have become more and more unfair and I don't enjoy seeing horses and riders struggling around a course and getting stuck, frustrated or hurt.  Yes, our horses need to respect solid XC jumps, but they don't need to pay for mistakes with thier lives or ours.

Very well said! I agree with NOT using jumps that can't be built with the fagile pins ... Where the sport is right now, I just feel like if I had a horse that could and be competative at Rolex, Badmiton, Burghley, etc., I wouldn't allow him to do it. Most of these horses are going to try to jump those fences -- they love it. If they didn't love it, they wouldn't be at the level they are. But there's a point when people have to say "this isn't safe for the horses." And to me, it's cruel to put an animal through something that has that HUGE risk that the high levels of Eventing does right now. That being said, there's obviously and innate risk with ANY riding, especially 3-day but I think there's something wrong with throughing entire lives away left and right for sport.

Darren Chicchia continues to improve slowly and his farm is being run by his peers, who have generously taken his business and his students under their wing.  USEA is helping to raise money alongside the EAF by holding a charity event and selling posters at Rolex.  Darren has begun speaking again, but "his responses are inconsistent and illogical."  He is fighting an amazingly hard battle, please keep him and his family in your prayers -- his mother and sister are with him, trying to help him back to real life.

Here is also a link to donate to his fund:

http://www.equestrianaidfoundation.org/

An update on Darren's condition ... Darren's maternal grandmother passed away so Darren's family is flying out to the services but will be back in time for his fundrasier.

 As far as Darren goes, he's still in the ICU and has begun communication verbally but his responses are inconsistent and illogical. He is now able to be transferred from his bed to a chair but he cannot stand unassisted or walk. He also has difficulty maintaining his posture.

 It's looking like he's in need of a miracle and some MAJOR prayers. Let's hope he continues to improve and progress.

Darren has now been transferred to a rehab facility.  He can eat unassisted and can walk 50 feet with a walker.  But he is still confused about where he is and is have short-and-long term memory problems.  It going to be a long road for him.....at this point, I think everyone would be overjoyed if he just regained full mental capacity.