hesi Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Top racehorse trainer guilty over young rider's injury TIM MURPHY, NEWSROOM.CO.NZ Last updated 08:50 02/11/2018 Share BEVAN READ/STUFF Sophia Malthus' fall from a horse two years ago left her paralysed from the collar down, with some movement in her arms. BEVAN READ/STUFF Malthus broke her spine in several places. BEVAN READ/STUFF Malthus has made an acclaimed documentary about her experience, "Bulletproof", on the Attitude series on TVNZ. This story was first published on Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission. Leading racehorse trainer Stephen McKee faces penalties of up to $300,000 after pleading guilty to endangering a young rider who fell from a horse on her first training ride and was made a tetraplegic. McKee, of Mt Eden, has been prosecuted by WorkSafe under the Health and Safety at Work Act over the injury to then 19-year-old Sophia Malthus which has left her paralysed from the collar down, with some movement in her arms. No conviction was entered after his guilty plea in the Auckland District Court and it is likely McKee will face a restorative justice conference and likely be ordered to pay reparations to Malthus and a fine. Her victim statement said: "I worry about what Stephen thinks of me and I hope he does not hate me for what happened." Experts consulted by WorkSafe found Malthus was not competent to have been put in charge of a racehorse at the Alfriston training track in July 2016, having been given no formal training, being not riding fit and having only ridden quiet horses and never at a gallop. A horse rider since the age of seven, her formal riding before the incident involved eight, half-hour private lessons paid for by her parents at a Palmerston North facility involving quiet, older horses in a different environment. On the morning of the accident, she lost control of the fast-moving horse after one lap of McKee's cinder track and as she screamed it ran faster before she fell, hitting a perimeter fence and breaking her spine in multiple places. In her victim impact statement provided to the court, Malthus said she realised she'd broken her back as she lay on the track and remembers asking those who raced to help her not to tell her mother "as I thought she wouldn't be able to handle it". She has had three operations and now lives on accident compensation payments in a cabin at her parents' property, with 24-hour carers, uses a wheelchair and is frequently ill and unable to care for herself. "I cannot even blow my nose by myself. I need help for everything," her victim statement said. "Nothing in life is easy any more. I never have a break from the disability, which is the worst." Malthus, now 21, said: "There's never a shortage of things to cry about. Ever. But I would rather not think about it ... or I get depressed." McKee's guilty plea was to a charge of exposing an individual to risk of serious harm or death. WorkSafe argued he had a duty to ensure Malthus' safety under the law, that he failed to ensure she was sufficiently competent. He had cooperated with the investigation and had no previous record of offences under the Health and Safety legislation. WorkSafe said the trainer thought the horse he had given Malthus that morning was "ideal" although he had not seen her ride, assuming her private lessons had been sufficient. The young rider has made an acclaimed documentary, "Bulletproof", on the Attitude series on TVNZ, which has been viewed almost 700,000 times on YouTube and made headlines both here and in Australia. In the programme, she returns to the McKee stables and meets the horse involved. "I don't have anything against the horse. I just want to win money on him," she says. Of her love of horses, she says: "All I wanted to do was get on a horse and go fast. It was a way I could feel free." This story was first published on Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Very much so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasel Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 This breaks my heart. Anyone who reads this and doesn't feel compassion for BOTH these people is heartless. My question is: why shouldn't the fine imposed on Stephen McKee go to the victim as well? (I assume the fine goes into the Govt coffers for no good reason). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB2.0 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Obviously this is a personal issue of mine but one question: how can any trainer be sure their staff has had sufficient practice riding race horses? Is there an industry standard? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 A real matter of concern for me. As an older person, I can remember the times when many kids had some - if not lots - of experience on Granddad's farm, or Uncle Jack's ponies...feeding orphan lambs with a bottle was a highlight for me as a young child, same as for many of my schoolmates..but now we are in a predominantly city culture. Most people now are city -bred, many, even those who do have show or sport horses, have absolutely no idea how to manage and/or look after them properly, and bloody hell, all the bling - expensive gear, makeup [ ffs] for show classes..tearing around bareback on scruffy ponies is something they have never done and would never deign to do. I feel for both Steve and the poor lass...but she would never have got on a horse of mine. Good level eventing skills would be the least I would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrossCodes Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Looking at it from an owners point of view, imagine if the horse had to be euthanised and then finding out it was being ridden by someone who had never galloped a horse before! I certainly wouldn't give them another horse to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB2.0 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I present you with this situation, albeit drastically different circumstances. My Dad (who held a trainers license at the time) purchased a former TB horse for me to ride. It bolted on me and threw me into a fence - luckily I wasn't injured, but what if I was? Would my Dad my at fault for putting someone relatively inexperienced on a horse capable of high speed? After all, the difference between eventing horses and TB's is astronomical. Even if I was an experience show jumper, would I have the skills or strength (at the age of 15) to pull up a careering horse? Where are budding young jockeys supposed to gain their experience on TB's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Fair enough, fine him. Quite clearly he did not provide the girl the right training she should have recieved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Good points...and just illustrates the difficult situation faced by many, not just Steve McKee. How to teach the necessary skills without actually, getting out and doing it? I recall when my father purchased a smart pony for me, I was about 13. We got her home and I had done a wee bit of quiet paddock riding when the former owner rang Dad in a hell of a flap..he had just found out, that, unbeknown to him, a local lad had taken her out for a road ride and she had bolted with him..the poor man was distraught thinking that I might be hurt. Dad thanked him, and told him we we very happy with the pony and were keeping her. I wasn't allowed out of a trot for months...she ended up one of the best dressage/eventing ponies in Canterbury and just missed an Area Trials place [ a better rider and she may have qualified ]. Patience, time and common sense. Edited November 2, 2018 by Freda 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomates Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Who do i blame ? Many moons ago when i was working at Evergreen Lodge down on state highway 27 and looking after One Pound Sterling and Icelandic we had a 1000 mtr straight track with a 800mtr oval at top to work horses on , a mare was returned to the stud as too slow , appearing quiet i thought an ideal type to learn to ride on (never been on a horse in my life ) so spent 3/4 days trotting and cantering around paddock before thinking i was ready for a gallop so took said mare up track and preceeded to gallop back for 700mtrs . No skull cap or vest and I was all over the place but thankfully came to no harm . Loved it and thought i would go again cpl of days later but the mare was having none of it wouldn't go near the track , but then i was 6'4''and 95kg , i look back and think "bloody idiot" not just for risking riding her but asking her too , thankfully one us had more sense the next time . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasel Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I assume Stephen McKee has public liability insurance for such circumstances, but its a different world form when we 'middle-aged people' grew up. I went to Woodville in the mid-1970s during the school holidays to be with my older brother, an apprentice jockey then...at the track one morning at sparrow-fart this bloke asked me to take his racehorse for a quiet canter around the track, reassuring me it was the quietest ,sweetest little mare in town...her name was Denigh... and I was about 4-foot high and 45kg wringing wet. Took one look at the size of that sweet little monster and politely declined. I knew I did not have the strength to pull that horse up if she wanted to go faster than I wanted her to! LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryb Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Public Liability won’t cover him Weasel, he is being prosecuted under a statute of parliament so would need Statutory Liability which he would most likely have. This is where it gets interesting as under H & S in Employment Act by law you cannot insure for a fine as it’s meant to be a penalty deterrent, however there is a way around it which is what the courts also do to ensure victims get more money. They charge Mr McKee with a small fine and then hit him with a huge reparation fee which is covered along with the legal defence by Insurance. ie: $25k fine - not insurable, $150k reparation to victim - covered, $25k legal defence - covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I wonder how many trainers carry Public Liability cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryb Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Freda said: I wonder how many trainers carry Public Liability cover? Everyone should Freda who operates a business & anyone employing staff should have Statutory Liability which covers for breech of acts of Parliament. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 i gotta ask did she lie how confident of a horse rider she was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hesi Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 Stephen McKee comes across as a thoroughly nice guy, and he appears to accept culpability for his actions. Therefore any fine or reparation, I would say would be incidental to him. He has to live with what has happened to Sophia Malthus, even though it was not deliberate on his part, and that is going to be be very hard, even to the extent it impacts on him as a trainer. And that is not in any way disregarding the huge impact it has had on Sophia Malthus Why I called the thread A Tragic case in Many Ways 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB2.0 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 11 minutes ago, gee said: i gotta ask did she lie how confident of a horse rider she was I could answer that, but given what she has also gone through, I don't think putting blame on her is a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryb Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 24 minutes ago, hesi said: Stephen McKee comes across as a thoroughly nice guy, and he appears to accept culpability for his actions. Therefore any fine or reparation, I would say would be incidental to him. He has to live with what has happened to Sophia Malthus, even though it was not deliberate on his part, and that is going to be be very hard, even to the extent it impacts on him as a trainer. And that is not in any way disregarding the huge impact it has had on Sophia Malthus Why I called the thread A Tragic case in Many Ways The fact that he has pleaded guilty suggests he has insurance cover, in statutory cases Insurance lawyers often suggest to plead guilty as it reduces the legal costs and they often make very early reparation payments of a significant sum as a gesture to the courts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 What sort of training is required before an apprentice even gets on a horse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB2.0 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 3 minutes ago, Newmarket said: What sort of training is required before an apprentice even gets on a horse? That's my question. How do they learn if they never sit in the saddle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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