Swedish junior rider got injured in a riding accident during the prize giving ceremony on the penultimate day of competition at the 2018 CDI Flyinge in Sweden on Saturday 29 September 2018.
Linden Urnes and her 11-year old Westfalian gelding Fairy Tale (by Friedensritter x Rosenkavalier) had competed successfully in the junior classes in Flyinge, finishing fourth in the team test with 68.636% and winning the individual with 72.304%.
Unfortunately during the prize giving ceremony for the individual test the chestnut gelding spooked very hard and took off. The rider could not stop him and both crashed into the wall. Both were hurt from the collision. Trainer Sofie Lexner took care of the horse and brought him to the equine clinic for a check up, while a nurse stabilized Ellen's neck while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Her parents accompanied her to the hospital.
Both horse and rider were X-rayed. Ellen sustained a concussion and a minor neck injury and Fairy Tale sustained a hairline fracture near his sinuses.
The 17-year old Ellen told Eurodressage that, "we are both doing well under the circumstances, it could have ended much worse. I have a concussion and a minor neck injury which will heal by itself. I have to wait two weeks before getting back in the saddle, but will not rush anything as recovery is the most important. Fairy Tale is also doing well. he will undergo a CT scan of the skull today to better understand the injury."
Ellen was a bronze medalist at the 2018 Swedish Junior Riders Championships and represented her country at the 2018 European Junior Riders Championships in Fontainebleau, France
Photo © Astrid Appels
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