Montana accident, I saw it

["Whitney Bass" <bass@bigsky.net>]

Although I am a ridecamp subscriber, I have never really felt the need to
write and express my opinions because, in most cases, someone else will
eventually express my opinion for me!  However, I feel the need to in this
case because I was there and I KNOW what happened.  I've been endurance
riding now for 14 years and have known Jim Oury and the two people racing
in for all those years.  We all live in Montana and ride mainly in the NW
and MT regions.  I, unfortunately, was not riding at the Posse ride because
I had been ill for a few days but decided to spend the day in ride camp
because it was only about an hour from where I live.  This is the third
year that the Posse has been held and it is WITHOUT A DOUBT, a well run and
well thought-out ride.  With that said, let me describe the scene.  The
finish line is in a "high-traffic" area.  Not because of the number of
vehicles but instead because the road that is used as the finish for the
ride is basically the only road anywhere around camp.  It is a small,
public dirt road that all the loops of the ride (5 I think) leave and come
back into camp.  The last 100 yards even parallels the vet/trot-out area
(with some distance separating) and the finish line is almost next to the
large water trough where people are sponging and trying to pulse down.  I'm
not telling you all this to point out the RM is at fault, but instead to
say that both riders could have and SHOULD have foreseen that racing in
would be a BAD idea.  And they made the wrong choice.   Although, I've got
to say that in my opinion, racing to the finish is not only a very bad
idea, but an incredibly selfish one.  There is a reason that our sport is
titled endurance riding and not endurance racing, don't you think?  Just my
2 cents! =)  Anyway, at the time of the accident, I happened to be walking
on the other side of the trot-out lanes toward the finish line.  I heard
someone yell that there were "riders coming in", and turned to see 2 riders
just coming in to view.  They were flying and one of them seemed to be
particularly out of control.  Jim Oury, who had been pulled out of the 50
mile ride, was sitting in a folding chair talking to a friend,  and by this
time was up and out of his chair, trying to get further away from the
racing horses.  The first rider managed to control her running, veering
horse enough to miss Jim, but the second did not.  Her horse knocked Jim
down at full speed and even managed to use his chest as the ground for one
stride.  I honestly don't think that the one rider knew that anything had
happened as she raced in those last 50 or so yards, but the rider that hit
Jim not only didn't slow down but finished the race wholeheartedly and went
to make sure her finish time, etc. was recorded properly on her vet card. 
Meanwhile, Jim had laid motionless for what seemed like forever and then
couldn't seem to remember what had happened or what was going on before the
incident.  I believe he suffered a broken sternum, a collapsed lung, 2 or 3
broken ribs, and cracked vertebra in his neck.  A horrible accident that
absolutely could have been avoided.  Here's what I think about what
happened.  Knowing the number of people, horses, and cars that had been on
and around the finish line area all day, the riders should have decided not
to race in way before they got there.  Having decided to race in,  the
riders had, WITHOUT A DOUBT, enough time to assess the situation ahead of
them and to make the decision to slow down and avoid an accident -- they
made the wrong decision.  The rider who hit Jim only made things 200 times
worse for herself by never accepting any responsibility for what had
happened and her daughter even said to me that "her mom said it was Jim's
fault".  What kind of mentality is that?  Thank God, it's not one that I'm
too familiar with.  Anyone who wants to defend the riders by saying that
it's not against the law to race in would be correct, but at this race it
was against basic common sense and good judgment.  Is the so-called glory
of winning a local 50-mile ride important enough to choose it over the
safety of other people and/or horses?  I would hope not.  Just my opinion
on what
I KNOW happened.

Whitney Bass
and my horses, Seco, Iza, Hossny, and Arazi (the truest and most generous
friends I could ever have). = )


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