The much debated USEA “one fall rule” will be revisited at the USEA’s Board of Governors Meeting in August, as discussed on the Chronicle forums and this COTH article from today. The one fall rule, as we all know, some better than others, means that any jump related [rider] fall on XC means elimination. I am hard pressed to find a rule that has divided the eventing community more. On one hand, I can definitely see the logic behind the rule–there are very legitimate reasons for wanting to make sure a rider and horse are alright after a fall and no one wants to see someone get further injured by continuing on course. On the other hand, as a rider, there’s nothing more that I want to do than get back on the horse after I fall off and it’s so annoying to have to walk home after just popping off in a stupid and clearly harmless unplanned dismount. I’m all for statistical analysis, and USEA President Sabo interestingly told the Chronicle that “If you look at data from last fall, there isn’t any evidence, for instance, that a person that gets on after a fall has another fall or is injured from it.” No pun intended, I’m sure. So, let’s do what we do best on Eventing Nation and put the debate up for mob rule vote.
Go eventing.
