American Olympian, McLain Ward, broke his leg while competing at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, on the evening of January 14th.
Riding Oh d’Eole, in the $30,000 Surpass Grand Prix, Ward caught his knee on a jump standard mid-air on a one-stride combination. “She jumped so high jumping into the combination over A that I went to pull her out from the B, but she left the ground anyway,” he explained. “Then, I hit my kneecap on the standard.”
Oh d’Eole landed and fell to her knees, Ward hitting the ground next to her, waved for help. Medics attended removed him from the ring and he was taken to the hospital. He underwent surgery that night, where it was discovered that he had sustained a compound fracture of the left patella – his kneecap was in 22 pieces.
Doctors say it will be at least 10 weeks before Ward can get in the saddle again, without stirrups, and another two weeks after that before he can get back to business as usual, provided the recovery goes well.
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