Australian Olympic eventer Shane Rose has undergone surgery for a broken femur and pelvis following a cross-country schooling accident.
Shane, who won the Land Rover Horse Show of the Year CCI4*-S with 19-year-old Virgil in New Zealand last weekend, was injured in the fall yesterday (14 March).
“As the saying goes peacock one day, feather duster the next. After a fantastic week in New Zealand where Shane and Virgil secured their Olympic qualifications, this week Shane was brought back down to earth literally,” read a statement from Shane’s team.
“During a cross-country schooling session yesterday Shane suffered a nasty fall. Thankfully his horse was not injured.”
The spokesman said Shane was in the intensive care unit with a “badly broken femur and a fractured pelvis and ribs”.
“He also suffered a heavy concussion. Shane had surgery this morning to stabilise the femur and pelvis,” he said, adding that Shane is in “good hands with a great medical team and support network”.
“While the timing is unfortunate we are hopeful there is adequate time for him to recover and still be able to continue his preparation schedule for the Paris Olympic Games.
“We are so thankful to the fantastic team at home who have stepped up in Shane’s absence to ensure it was business as usual at Bimbadeen Park. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Shane Rose is a three-time Olympic medallist. He was on the team that won silver with All Luck at Beijing in 2008, and bronze on CP Qualified at Rio 2016, and in Tokyo he was part of the silver-medal winning team with Virgil, alongside Kevin McNab and Don Quidam and Andrew Hoy and Vassily De Lassos. The Paris Games will be Shane’s fourth Olympics.
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