How Do The Rules Still Honor The Spirit Of The Sport?
Back in October, American eventer Lauren Nicholson strode into the show jumping arena aboard the sleek grey gelding lovingly known as “Paddy” sitting in 6th place on the last day of the Maryland 5-Star Horse Trials at Fair Hill. From the livestream, the crowd seemed electric. It had been an exciting three days of competition already, with riders looking in top form as they closed in on the finish line.
As Lauren, a seasoned pro fresh off a silver-medal team finish at the World Equestrian Games in Pratoni, trotted around ahead of the start of her course, it was clear there was some confusion. She looked to the officials at the edge of the ring. She saluted multiple times, customary to signal a buzzer or a bell, to mark the countdown for her to get to the first jump on course. Seconds passed and it was clear that the rider had not heard a bell. Even watching on the livestream at home, I wasn’t sure if I heard a buzzer or if it was just part of the commotion of the spectators.
It was obvious to everyone that something was wrong. What devolved was Lauren eventually going on to jump, but racking up so many needless time penalties it dropped her to the bottom of the rankings. Later in the day, Lauren shared her frustration and disappoint with what happened on Facebook, expressing sorrow mostly for her horse’s owners and support team. In her post, Lauren described a trend of issues that bubbled up between the officials and the riders during the week: “There is a huge disconnect right now between the officials of eventing and the riders, and we need to get back to making judgements in the spirit of the sport.”
So what is in the spirit of the sport? And how do we best honor it, while making the game as safe and as fair as possible? The answer is an evolving one, of course. But in this instance, it was clear that the ground jury did not have the best interest of horses and riders in mind when they let Lauren wander around the arena, clearly stopping to salute twice, without addressing her at all. Lauren is no amateur – she was waiting for the bell to proceed. It seems like a cheap shot not to ring it a second time (which is legal by rulebook standards), or for a steward to address her quickly ringside.
This hot take originally published in the Heels Down Spark in October 2022. Get more conversation starters in your inbox every weekday morning by subscribing to the Spark now.