I believe in second chances!!!

Photo by Tricia Booker

I have marvelled over this photo all week long. Under other circumstances, I would never be so enthralled with a picture of a dramatic crash at a cross-country fence, but that was then and this is now. I think these frangible jumps are, in any number of instances, the answer to many, many eventers' prayers. I find it heartening and joyful to know that -- what would very likely have been either a life-threatening or fatal accident for either or both this horse and rider -- turned into a mishap that necessitated nothing more than a regroup, a short walk about, a 2-minute repair of the obstacle, and then horse and rider reattempted (successfully!) the jump and happily went on their way to finish the course with no other incident. 

I would like to believe that this might mean the beginning of the end of horses and riders "paying the ultimate price" for errors or mistakes while riding cross-country in upper-level eventing. It certainly ended well for Geoff Curran and The Jump Jet at Rolex last weekend. I'm looking forward to meeting Safer Building Materials co-founder, Kyle Carter, this weekend in Alabama and I can't wait to hear more about what he might have in store for smarter, safer eventing!