10.10.20 Fall at Thoresberton

Yesterday Harry had a fall at fence 3 of the 3*L at Thorseby. His foot got caught in the stirrup, and he was dragged at a gallop, unfortunately meaning he was repeatedly kicked in the head. By the time his foot eventually detached from the stirrup his hat had been badly damaged and kicked free from his head.

He has lacerations and significant bruising to his shoulders, neck and face. His right arm is broken and there is a suspected fracture to his jaw. Amazingly a CT scan confirmed no bleed on the brain and he is totally compus mentus - when being loaded into the ambulance he asked for a message to be sent to the competitors waiting at the start, apologising for holding them up!

He will go under general anaesthetic this morning to operate on the broken arm.

Merrywell Tradition was immediately looked after by the on-site vets at Thorseby. Hopefully he has no injuries other than superficial bruising, and the the veterinary team, led by Ali Butler, have been brilliant with him.

Thank you for the kind message of support, which I’ve passed on to Harry. Aside from being pretty bashed up he’s in good spirits and looking forward to getting home in the next couple of days.