Charles sidelined until New Year with back injury

“IT was a close one!”

Those were the words yesterday of Peter Charles commenting on his fall from a horse last Friday that saw him hospitalised with a broken vertebra.

The accident occurred as Charles, 46, was riding a novice mare in the warm-up arena at a local show.

He confirmed that he will “be out of action for three months”, but said he is looking forward to getting back in the saddle.

A spokesperson for the British Equestrian Federation said “it was a very serious, freak accident”.

“The mare took off a stride early when she tried to jump a shadow on the ground in front of the fence and landed on the back pole,” she said.

“Peter has a broken vertebrae in between his shoulder blades and some trauma to his ligaments and muscles,” she said, adding that he was “sitting up in bed with the aid of physiotherapist.”

It is the second week in a row that Charles is making headlines in this column; last week he said he “wouldn’t rule anything in or anything out” when asked of speculation he is considering declaring for Britain.

Following Friday’s accident, Charles was taken to Basingstoke Hospital by ambulance. According to the BEF spokesperson, the MRI scanner was out of action at the hospital and the double European champion had a worrying wait until Monday before the scan could be undertaken.

“There was a fear he had also broken something in his neck, but after the MRI scan this was found not to be the case,” said the spokesperson.

The incident highlighted forcibly the dangers of equestrianism: that a rider of Charles’s calibre and experience can be threatened with serious injury even competing at a level considered well within his range.

* CIAN O’CONNOR is hoping “a bit of luck” will set him up for a shot at some World Cup success this weekend in Helsinki.

Speaking yesterday from the Finish capital, he said he had been unfortunate with Irish Independent Echo Beach to have just one fence down in the first round of his last three major competitions.

The two most recent cases were last weekend’s Oslo grand prix and World Cup qualifier, but O’Connor is hoping fortune will smile on him this weekend and allow him challenge for the major points and money.

“Echo Beach is jumping really well, but these indoor 1.60m tracks take a bit of getting used to for a nine-year-old. We’ve had just one down in the five-star grand prix at Brussels and in last weekend’s grand prix and World Cup in Oslo. We just need a bit of luck this weekend, because I’m confident if I can jump clear I can take them all on in the jump-off.”

The Oslo qualifier saw O’Connor and Echo Beach finish 15th to earn two points on the Western European League. He and the chestnut mare were among 10 riders to four-fault in round one, including last year’s Oslo winner Gerco Schroder from The Netherlands riding Eurocommerce Milano and world number two Rolf Goran Bengtsson from Sweden riding the well-seasoned MacKinley.

Victory went to Tebbel, taking the top points in the season opener on Team Harmony Coupe de Coeur.

If O’Connor is looking to scale the heights at World Cup level, he has no such problem in the puissance. In Oslo, he again teamed up with Casper to notch up their third win in recent times.

He was one of three riders to survive the first two rounds, but Denmark’s Linnea Ericsson (PGL Cronus) and Germany’s Rene Tebbel (Quel Homme) could not live in the rarefied atmosphere achieved by the Irish pairing, who were the only ones to clear 2.15m.

Earlier this month, O’Connor and the 14-year-old grey gelding — purchased back from FEI president Princess Haya — shared the puissance spoils at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham, having claimed outright victory at the Dublin Horse Show in August.

On Friday, O’Connor was just over one-and-a-half seconds off the pace with the 13-year-old chestnut mare Zanoubia when third in a speed class.

He continues his quest for World Cup points this weekend in Helsinki.

* A SPECIALLY-PRODUCED programme featuring the highlights of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland Pony and Young Rider National Championships will be broadcast next Monday.

The programme, commissioned by the SJAI, will be broadcast on TGV and Sky, beginning at 7.30pm and repeated on the following Saturday.

* THE Irish Horse Board is to publish a new edition of its Sellers and Suppliers brochure next January and is urging those interested in being included to get their advertisement in soon.

The publication will be made available to visitors to IHB trade stands at various national and international equestrian events and will also be available to anyone requesting such information from the IHB.

Inclusion in the brochure costs e250. This price also includes a full-page advert on the IHB website under the Sellers and Suppliers section. The closing date for receipt of advertisements is November 30.

For further information contact the IHB at — phone: [phone], fax: [phone], and internet: www.irishsporthorse.com

* THE Northern Ireland International Horse Show takes place this weekend at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast.

The show was organised as a replacement for the Belfast International Horse Show, which failed to go ahead last year, despite critically-acclaimed shows in 2003 and 2004.

The action culminates on Sunday with the €30,000 Ulster Sportsman’s Grand Prix, with the winner picking up the Sherelle Duke Memorial Cup. The competition is sponsored by friends and family of the 28-year-old event rider, who died in August during a competition in England.

The total prizefund of €100,000 has attracted Ireland’s top riders, including Conor Swail, fresh from his Athens Grand Prix win, Billy Twomey, buoyed by success at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham, along with Marion Hughes and Captain Shane Carey and Clem McMahon. Britain is represented by William Funnell, Michael Whitaker, Robert Whitaker and John Whitaker.