Whats the most ill/injured you've been while competing?

[Mince Pie]

Caberston

not quite competing but went cubbing last year with a really bad back (slipped disc and sciatica), I had spent weeks getting him fit so just loaded up on painkillers and went for it! Couldn't move for a week after though.... :Rolleyes:

 

[kerilli]

It's a little different, but made me change my perspective. My uncle went to the newcomer regionals with three horses, he was an alcoholic and he tipped the second up at the third fence, the horse was destroyed on the scene. Everybody knew they tipped up because he was too drunk to and had an enormous misser.

I couldn't bare to have that on my conscience.

Ditto. God, how indescribably awful. Bad enough if something terrible happens and you were doing your best, but going when you KNOW you aren't at your best... totally unfair on the trusting animal you are aiming at the fences.
(I will admit... I did do some xc jumping in the snow once when totally drunk. I was a stupid 17 yr old... the YO, her husband the WP and i all got completely smashed on a concoction of spirits and then went and raced each other over the xc fences like a load of utter lunatics. I will NEVER go near a horse when drunk again. We were very very lucky, we all got away with it and so did our horses. Spectacularly dumb.)

 

[Dizzydancer]

Oh no how long after did it come back? I had it 5 months ago don't want it to come back again.

 

[soulfull]

I once went hunting with what I thought was a chest infection. Finished hunt and threw reins at my friend as I couldn't breath. Turns out I had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot on lung) oops

 

[JackJill]

Just for comedy value I will add mine, just before scope this year I managed to fall down a manhole cover and sliced my leg open right at the very top, almost where it stops being your leg!!! Que a very embarrassing trip to a&e for a lot of stitches! Missed all my championship classes that I'd spent all season qualifying for but managed to do the last day and ripped out 2 of the stitches!!!! So painful!!!!

 

[ironhorse]

Did the Bicester team chase with flu many moons ago - was dizzy putting the horse's travelling bandages on so took some more cold remedy. At the start I was so off my face on cold remedies I wasn't even remotely nervous and was apparently grinning like an idiot!
We got round despite having to stop when my stirrup came off (did I mention that I was side saddle) and getting the fence judge to fish it out of the ditch!

Far worse and not recommended was riding at the national side saddle championships with the hangover from hell. In my defence my fiance and I had a joint stag and hen do the night before. My friend's OH, whose horse I was riding fell off the luton during the night and blacked his eye. Then the horse, a really cheeky cob, sensed I was not 100% and bucked me off in the warm up. I was badly bruised and had to miss the class, but made it down the aisle in one piece!

 

[Llanali]

Oh I quite agree Kerilli- that's why I say it changed my perspective, I have gone midnight galloping over chase fences whilst pretty tanked, and competed with concussion etc several times.
These days I might still get back on before medically allowed but in a controlled home environment; competition environments subconsciously make me push on when pain or common sense might ordinarily prevail, not to mention the increased mental and physical activity increased when competing over a walk trot canter exercise in the school at home.

 

[Llanali]

Oh I quite agree Kerilli- that's why I say it changed my perspective, I have gone midnight galloping over chase fences whilst pretty tanked, and competed with concussion etc several times.
These days I might still get back on before medically allowed but in a controlled home environment; competition environments subconsciously make me push on when pain or common sense might ordinarily prevail, not to mention the increased mental and physical activity increased when competing over a walk trot canter exercise in the school at home.

Not least I've just got married and my husband wants me alive ( still honeymoon period obviously lol) !

 

[tinkerbell88]

I competed my first novice BE with a broken foot!! I had a horrendous fall the day before off a very naughty young mare but I refused to be taken to hospital incase I was told I couldn't ride. I couldn't weight bear, couldn't ride my horse that day so got my trainer to ride her for me and sat with my foot in a bucket of ice all afternoon.

The next day at Solihull I strapped up my foot and borrowed a lady at the yards walking sticks to hobble round the xc course- it took me nearly 2 ours to get round!! Then only did 5 mins dressage warm up, rising trot not possible so just did sitting, and somehow got 31.5. Before the jumping I took yet more painkillers and anti inflammatorys and somehow jumped a double clear but very slow xc. Bless my fabulous horse!! She did it all for me that day at both of our first novice.

About 2 months later when I was still lame I went to doctors, sent to hospital and told I had broken my foot, it hadn't healed properly and there is a hole in the bone. Fabulous!

 

[Fancyfree]

Worse for me was completing a local ODE with a burst appendix. Made it round xc got off and promptly collapsed from pain rushed to hospital and into surgery. Very nearly died as had blood poisioning.

 

[LEC]

A cough and a runny nose.

 

[BronsonNutter]

Competed at Lincolnshire show this year with a dislocated metacarpal (bone in the hand - it ended up in my wrist). I'd done it the day before and couldn't hold my double reins properly

Went to A&E the day after and had it in plaster for seven weeks...

 

[daveismycat]

Not competing but...

I went across to the other side of Scotland for a cross country clinic once with David Gatherer a week after a nasty fall. The aim was to restore confidence - which it did. Unfortunately the week before I landed squarely on my backside and damaged my coccyx (didn't go to a&e, was too scared of what they might do to me ).

Dosed up on diclofenac, I spent most of the lesson standing up in my stirrups as my backside was so sore it was unreal.

Oh, and the two and a half hour drive was as hideous as riding. I had to pull over in Sainsbury's carpark to blast that freezy spray stuff down the back of my breeches on the way home!!

It was about four months before I could sit down properly or get out of bed in the morning without shooting pains down my legs. *yes I'm a doctor phobic idiot*

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Got my foot broken and achillies tendon torn whilst trotting my horse up inhand in the warm up arena when someone nearly ran over the top of me (looking at their horses head position rather than wehre they were going ) and my horse kicked then trod on my foot.

Went in and hobbled through the inhand then rode in the ridden class (was nearly sick with pain in the lineup) got horse boxed back up and went home to a+e to discover the damage

Wouldnt recommend it at all I should have just went home as I didn more damage to my tendin by carrying on

 

[MissSBird]

I ended up suffering mild heat stroke this summer standing in the line up of an m&m class in my tweed jacket. I was ill all the way home in the lorry, struggled to look after my boy when we got home (thank god for helpful sisters!). In the end I got straight in a cool bath when I got back to the house which sorted me out, but I've never felt so drained and horrible.


Before that day I was a huge stickler for show ring traditions, now I'm totally the opposite and a high advocate of appropriate sports clothing. Had I been able to dress properly for the high (27 I think!) temperatures that would never have happened.

 

[Sunshine8]

WHP class with 16 stitches in my leg.
Another time fell off in a jumping lesson and didn't remember anything beyond the fall the next day.

 

[siennamum]

Not an illness, but I turned up to watch our mare being shown as a yearling years ago (16 to be precise) 8.5 months pregnant. The guy who was supposed to be showing her chickened out as she was being so naughty. I was so peed off I grabbed horse & number & marched in the ring with her.
I was wearing hideous maternity clothes, was the size of a house and had to stop every ten steps to bend over wheezing & holding my side. The judge just stopped looking our way as evry time she did I was taking a break, & had my hand held up indicating she should just carry on & ignore me.
Mare was obv. angelic & pootled along sweetly which had been the objective of the day. We were last, mainly as we never got out of a shuffle.

 

[jess_asterix]

I went dressaging and showjumping with the beginning of glandular fever, migraines, falling asleep a lot, couldn't eat, I felt awful.

I got two Of my worst dressage scores as I felt like I couldn't ride and couldn't breathe due to my infected tonsils! It was a horrible experience and I withdrew from the jumping, it would have been dangerous!

 

[1Lucie]

I havent competed ill but i know the effects of glandular fever far too well. Its exhausting and if u do too much you will seriously pay for it later! Just get plenty of rest before and after if u do compete.

 

[Alfami]

A cough and a runny nose.

Brilliant!

The worse one for me was at Little Downham a few years back. The day before, my delightful horse had booted me right at the top of my thigh (and I mean properly booted me, I was very lucky he didn't break it - and he was so told-off hasn't done it since ).

The bruise bled the entire length of my upper leg, so I was literally an attractive shade of purple from my hip bone to my knee and was really struggling to walk. But, the irrational idiot that I am, I decided that he HAD to go to Lt Downham and that kicking me wasn't going to get him out of competing (& I didn't want to lose the money!). I hopped round the XC course, told a fence judge I wasn't riding when she asked (obviously very concerned) then got on. Funnily enough it was Ok when I was on board (the dressage was the worst - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ). He jumped a double clear and came 9th - I almost forgave him.

 

[LynH]

I've done dressage several times with an IV line in my arm for IV antibiotics for pneumonia. I have a long term illness so I never feel particularly great and the frequent bouts of pneumonia mean I have IV lines in for months on end and live on morphine/fentanyl for the lung pain. I'm lucky to have good friends who help me and will pull the plug if I'm not looking too good and they make me get off. I've been better behaved recently and learnt not to do so much when I'm ill. I didn't realise that riding when I was ill was putting strain on my heart. I learnt that one the hard way and one heart op later I don't ride or compete if I have a temperature or any sign of a chest infection. I think riders are pretty hardy and will do more than they should when broken or unwell as this thread clearly demonstrates.

 

[bounce]

I went to the opening meet last year with a hip bursitis which was so painful I could hardly stand, couldn't sit comfortably and the drive in the lorry to the meet was so painful I was almost sick.

Several strong painkillers later and I had a lovely 4 hours on the horse pain free and the action of riding actually helped. I'd taken my father with me just in case I was in too much pain to drive home. Luckily he wasn't needed. I was adamant that I was going to the opening meet though.

 

[stencilface]

Not ill as such, but remember a HT where I was so hungover I spent most of the time in the warm up slumped over. Thankfully a boost of adrenaline as soon as you start and everything is back to normal again, and generally have the braver pants on when hungover

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I have never been seriously injured or properly ill. The most I have done is work rode the horses with flu ... Nowt to shout home about!

Jockeys are hardly buggers though! They take a bashing and are straight back up on their feet! Campbell did a fanstastic one a few years ago - his horse jinked and dropped him when 6lengths in front, the silly boy got up straight into the path of another horse that was landing from the hurdle and was smashed back into the ground - I felt so sorry for Paddy that day - the jockey who jumped into him! A trip to A&E, 4 days in hospital, 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung and badly bruised kidney, not to mention concusion. 2 weeks later he was back on the track winning round Aintree. He was a hardy bugger was Wee Bell.

The other one, and it's only funny because he is fine and to this day I still rip him about it, was Declan. 10l clear, horse falls, Dec's gets up and looks for his horse to see if he could catch it and remount (back in the days when you could). He had his back to the other runners - boomf! Down he went face first into the grass! Now if that wasn't bad enough - less than a week later he does exactly the same thing at another track - talk about not learning from his mistakes! BTW both times he was absolutely fine just bewildered at what had happened - bless him, he's not the brightest button in the box.