(23 July 1996; Day 04)
Just watching three day eventers maneuver their horses through a dressage test, nearly 1.5 hours of roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross country jumping and a stadium jumping course over a three-day period is daunting. But Australian rider Wendy SCHAEFFER is competing in her first Olympic Games, and doing it with a fractured right leg.
SCHAEFFER suffered the fracture at a horse trials in mid-May, just a few weeks after she and Sunburst, a small (15.2 hands) thoroughbred that is tough, fast, and an outstanding jumper, had been named to the Australian Olympic team for the three day event. She was competing in a horse trials in Southeastern Australia with a less-experienced horse when, she says, "I underestimated an obstacle and kind of forgot that I wasn't riding Sunburst." Without the teamwork established between a horse and rider that have competed together often, their communication went awry. SCHAEFFER's leg was trapped between a cross country fence and her mount. The horse was fine, but SCHAEFFER's Olympic chances were suddenly in doubt.
Following the accident, SCHAEFFER had surgery to place plates and pins in her leg to speed the healing. "If they had put me in a traditional plaster cast, I wouldn't be here," said SCHAEFFER, "and I just couldn't miss the Olympics." The majority of the time that SCHAEFFER is not on a horse, she can be seen walking around with an electromagnetic stimulation pack strapped to her leg in order to speed the healing. The process seems to have worked, as SCHAEFFER and Sunburst turned in a clear round on endurance day, with just 11.60 time penalties.
"I'm glad that I got to go first," said SCHAEFFER. "I was able to go out and compete with no pressure from the team, as there would have been if I had known that I had to go clean or it would have hurt the team. It was my first four-star event, but I have had some experience at the World Championships, and I have a lot of confidence in Sunburst."
The Aussies are in position to successfully defend their team gold medal in the three day event with only the jumping phase remaining. SCHAEFFER's two-day score of 61.0 penalties has contributed to Australia's two-day total of 183.6, while the United States is well back in second place with 244.6.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Amy H. Symons.
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| An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games. |