Mclain Ward And Achat 6 Win High Jump, But 83-Year Old Record Stands - Page 3

Ward pointed out that in the High Jump, the problem is the horses are in the air so long that they try to bank off the jump. He noted that the records set in the high jump previously were accomplished using fences over which the horses were able to bank their jump. "I've seen [it] on 8-millimeter video," Ward said, referring to Captain Alberto Larraguibel Morralas's record jump in Vina del Mar Santago, Chile, on February 5, 1949. "He ran up it basically like it was a bank. Obviously the fences today are much lighter. It's a much lighter material than what the record was broken over; the record was broken when the fence was basically tied in. The ability of the horse to be able to push off over the middle of the jump is no longer there and that's what he [Achat] tried to do, and unfortunately he just sent me a little bit out of the tack. I knew I wasn't going to be able to stay on so I just kept going in that direction so I didn't get under his feet."

The crashes of Engle, Vale, and Minikus are just part of the sport claimed Ward. "This is a sport just like any others – there's a bit of danger. That could happen in a Grand Prix class; that could happen in a Preliminary class over in the Mogavero Arena [a smaller arena on the grounds]," said Ward. "Unfortunately it happens. You can't let that affect you or you won't be a very good show jumping rider."

Despite the danger, Ward believes the High Jump classes should be held as part of horse shows. "It's the biggest crowd draw in the country," he explained. "I think that most of the horses that do it, like my horse, basically he's a specialist at it. He knows his job. You never once saw him look intimidated or not being aggressive going down to the fence. I think it should be done with the right horse." He added that he did not know the experience level of the other horses in the class, so could not explain why they had problems. "Unfortunately it wasn't the greatest of high jump classes. The class at Washington a month and a half ago was just fine. Nobody fell. You have grand prixes that go this way too. I think the Olympic trials the last day went this way didn't they, or World Championship trials?" he joked, laughing, referring to recent high profile jumping events when riders and fences came down uncharacteristically, including his own performances.