October
MayCall for a coach
Opposition to jumps racing is increasing following the unfortunate incidents at Warrnambool last week and not just from animal welfare lobbyists, but from within the racing industry. "This is the shocking moment that must signal the end of jumps racing," wrote the racing editor of a major Sydney newspaper, in response to the riderless horse jumping a two-metre fence and injuring several spectators. This was a freak accident. There have been a number of instances in motor racing where cars have crashed through or over safety fences and injured spectators, but no one has called for the abolition of that sport.
Of more serious concern are the number of horses falling in jumps races, the fatalities, the number of horses failing to complete the courses and the number of jockeys falling off when their mounts blunder.
Three-day event horses compete over longer distances for the most part, over higher and wider obstacles, made of solid timber; carry more weight than their jumps racing counterparts and gallop over undulating terrain, yet the instances of injury and death are minimal compared to jumps racing.
The reason for this, I believe, lies in the level of education given to each sport’s participants. Racing officials need to appoint a coach who can teach trainers how to educate a horse to jump safely and how to condition them to gallop long distances over obstacles, and to teach riders the correct way to ride over jumps. Someone like Wayne Roycroft would be ideal. As a rider, he was an Olympic medalist in three-day eventing and an Australian showjumping champion. As a coach, he guided the Australian 3DE team to consecutive Olympic victories before resigning as national equestrian coach earlier this year. He could bring to jumps racing a wealth of knowledge and skill in the training of both horses and riders that just may ensure the survival of the sport. And he might just be available.
Blackheath (NSW)