The conditions surrounding the final accident on Nov. 7 at 4:20 p.m. are disputed. The Chronicle reported that a rider was taken to the hospital after a fall. Officials at Mt. Holyoke, however, maintain that the rider, a member of the equestrian team, fell off a pony on a trail ride and her friend called public safety officials. This account suggests that an ambulance arrived and the rider refused treatment, never in fact traveling to the hospital, as The Chronicle reported.
Two of the six injured riders were members of Mt. Holyoke's intercollegiate equestrian team, while the remaining four were students in equestrian physical education classes.
In each of the first five accidents, the rider was evaluated at Mt. Holyoke's health center. On Oct. 5, a rider fell and turned her ankle. A day later, a rider fell and sustained a sore back. The day after that, two accidents occurred. In the first, a rider scraped her arm; the nature of the second rider's injury is unknown. On Oct. 13, an equestrian team member fell and sprained her hand.
Mt. Holyoke's Media Director David Lachance said that six accidents in five weeks is not startling considering that more than 2,000 physical education horse rides occur at Mt. Holyoke's equestrian facilities in a five-week period. "I don't think it's an unusual number," he said.
Lachance said that riding instructors at Mt. Holyoke don't take any chances when dealing with situations of possible injury. "Instructors err on the side of caution," he said. "If they have reason to believe that a student is injured, they will call public safety."
Kathy Wunderle '08, a member of the Amherst College riding club team, agrees with Lachance. "As far as people falling, I wouldn't say it's really unusual, unless there were a lot of injuries resulting from the falls," said Wunderle. "Falling off is part of the sport, but it's a lot less common for people to get seriously injured from a fall. If the injuries were serious, my first thought would be that if was very bad luck; my second would be that maybe the trainers or riders are doing something dangerous, but Mt. Holyoke is one of the top teams in the country, so I doubt that's the case."
Amanda Richardson '06, who is also on the College riding team, said that it is common to fall off the horse in competitive riding. "At that level falling off the horse is not unusual," she said. "Mt. Holyoke is a very good team. I am not surprised some people fell off their horses."
Caroline Leeds '08, another member of the College riding team said that it is reasonable to expect more riding accidents later in the fall season. "As the weather gets colder, horses tend to get more high-strung," she said.