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I started a thread here for wider discussion about a good point raised by Ruby making Monsieur d’Arque’s entry in the Memorials section, with an article posted by Prong on that thread:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/mar/26/horseracing.sport
Watching the good novice handicap chase at Sandown today and got that wincing feeling when Annsam left both hind legs in the water..fortunately they were both still apparently correctly attached afterwards but he immediately dropped out of contention and was soon pulled up. Watching those types of mistakes – when the hindlegs are left behind and the body keeps going when the horse’s back and hips were already at full stretch trying to get across- is horrible and the fact that the water is only 4 inches deep doesn’t matter, it’s enough to just catch them like Peter Stringer ankle tapping Jonah Lomu. Even though Annsam wasn’t very obviously injured at the time it is easy to imagine that he could have a badly strained back, pelvis or hocks from the overextension.
Water jumps don’t really add to the viewing spectacle IMO, maybe it’s different on course but you can’t really see the water when you’re watching on TV. They don’t produce spectacular leaps like open ditches can do- at best it’s a neutral viewing experience if all the horses jump it perfectly and it just looks like they’re jumping a small pointless fence that slightly interrupts the rhythm of jumping the proper big fences. The only time you can see the water is if a horse drops its legs in causing the splash and you don’t even get that thrilling whew, he got away with it feeling you can get at a normal fence when a jockey calls a cab, the horse gets the front landing gear out and they miraculously land with the big one on its feet and the wee one still on top. To me, the significant water jump mistakes always just look sickeningly jarring even if the horse appears OK afterwards.
I get that they add diversity, but not in a good way I think. There’s enough variety with the siting of fences at varying distances off bends, up and down hills, close together like the Railway fences or Galway’s last two, tight or galloping courses, dog legs, short run ins, long steep ones, pancake flat courses, Punchestown’s cambers, Hexham’s hedges…
Taking a JCB with a bucketful of topsoil to all the water jumps would be absolutely no loss.
How do they train horses for these, anyway? A lot of schooling fences are smaller and easier for training young or unconfident horses so how is a young horse meant to know, other than bitter experience, that a small fence on the racecourse means a hidden trap behind? By the time the horse sees the water it has aleady left the ground so its speed and trajectory are fixed, all it can do to correct a shortfall is a sudden extra jerky stretch as Jonjo O’Neill describes in the article.
Unnecessarily dangerous in my opinion , and time that they were got rid of for good.
Very interesting post, as usual, greenasgrass.
Such incidents don’t come good just a few days away from Cheltenham. Speaking of which, I still have Equus Secretus’ water jump injury from November 2020 on my mind.
What I don’t understand is when even the “old” brigade, like the late Lord Oaksey, Jonjo and others as well call for the water jumps to be abolished, but no decision seems to be taken. It’s not even a debate right now. There are some courses that got rid of them as far as I can remember, but I guess most of them are just just too lazy of altering them. It’s not a huge cost, but the horses who get them wrong pay a very high price.
Agree that water jumps should be scrapped. Maybe just keep the one on the Grand National course which is such a distinctive feature in the race.
Mistakes at water jumps look terrible and can cause serious injury. And I do not accept the idea they produce a spectacle. At tracks like Sandown, Ascot and Cheltenham they are nowhere near the stands.
As far as I am aware, there have never been any water jumps in Ireland. And the tracks in Britain that have removed their water jumps have not really lost anything.
Agree, pointless, they add nothing to my enjoyment and feel like an irritant rather than a colour that adds to the spectacle of a race.
The very first time you watch a steeplechase, it’s kinda cool when a decent-sized field take the Water Jump – though still nowhere near as dramatic as a good camera shot of an open ditch, especially if something stands off outside the wings.
But thereafter, watching them taking the water is dull, predictable and a risk to injury for the horses.
Scrap them.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I wouldn’t object to them being removed either. It’s probably a better outcome for a horse that’s misjudged one if they don’t try to correct in mid air and just land in the water if they have to, which essentially punishes the poor horse for trying to save itself.
Everyone on this thread appears to ignore the stats and facts. The water jump is safest fence on a track for a horse. There should be more of them, not less or none.
The BHA, RSPCA and clerks of course all agree on this, they can’t all be wrong.
For what it’s worth I think they are a spectacle at the likes of Aintree, Newbury and before they ruined the jumps track Haydock. Even out in the country I would be in favour as they are proven safer for the horse.Why not ban open ditches rather than water jumps?
Thanks for that link yeats, I suppose the evidence shows that they are safer than normal fences- after all it’s hard to fall at the fence itself given that it’s so tiny. And I get the Sandown clerk’s point of needing a slower-upper before the Railways. Still though, I do wonder about non fatal injuries…it looks like such wrenching thing when they make mistakes and it is notable that the trainers in the Guardian article who disapprove- Jonjo O’Neill, Paul Nicholls, Nigel Twiston-Davies and Kim Bailey- are all tough practical horsemen not especially given to wrapping their charges in cotton wool.
There is a safe alternative, as used at Huntingdon and shown in this picture:
https://d2j31icv6dlhz6.cloudfront.net/L/SfCCSdmkC8Gtc5mB0C35/water-jump.jpg
This is the description given by the racecourse groundsman:
“There had been a number of injuries to horses from the concrete tray traditionally used to hold the water at courses across the country,” explains Shaun. “We excavated down below the tray, put a drain in, filled it with sand and fitted a blue ‘astroturf’ carpet. It is completely level with the turf, so there is no risk of injury if the horse hits it.”
No idea why the use of this hasn’t spread to other tracks.
The water jump at Auteuil is in front of the stands and is one of the feature fences and is jumped twice I believe in the Grand Steeplechase De Paris. I think it’s called La Riviere. To my eye it looks longer than most on British courses and I think I remember reading somewhere that it might be 18ft but it always receives a great cheer at the main meetings in May and November. I couldn’t tell you if there are a number of injuries at this fence but I don’t recollect there being any issues in my limited visits to the course
Aaron – it is indeed a wider obstacle, and as one would expect produces a high number of absolutely hideous incidents. It wouldn’t last a year on a British racecourse.
The Auteuil water jump is called the Riviere Des Tribunes, and is 8 metres wide.
Here’s a chase from Auteuil last Saturday, where they jump this obstacle at 1m 48s in.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
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