Judith Faherty

YOUNG Irish rider Eoin McMahon is “very very lucky” after suffering a crashing fall at the open water jump during the Grand Prix of Munich last Sunday, resulting in his mount Questfinder, owned by Carl Hanley, being put down.

Speaking to The Irish Field yesterday (Friday), Hanley described the frightening accident, which has resulted in McMahon being side-lined for five weeks. “Half way down a long six-stride distance to the water jump, Questfinder spooked, which left him too far off the water. He put a leg down in the middle and flipped over, landing on top of Eoin.

“The horse was lying on top of him and we had a bit of trouble trying to get Eoin out. It was clear that the horse had broken his leg quite badly up near his elbow.”

McMahon was drifting in and out of consciousness before a helicopter landed in the arena and air lifted him to the nearest hospital. “Luckily there were a few good doctors on site but they were afraid he had suffered a spinal injury – he hit the ground like a dart,” said Hanley.

The initial MRI scan on Sunday evening indicated that nothing was broken, however last Monday, following a consultation with a spinal specialist, it was found that McMahon had fractured his first vertebrae and was extremely lucky it hadn’t broken through.

LUCKY

“He is a lucky lad, if the vertebrae had broken, the fall would have been fatal.” Hanley continued: “He is coming out of the accident with a broken finger, fractured vertebrae and severe bruising which means he has to rest for five weeks, but after that he will be back to normal.”

Michael Duffy from Ballina, Co Mayo, will take up the reins on Hanley’s horses while McMahon recovers. “Michael has been very kind and is going to come for the next five weeks to keep the show on the road. He is in La Baule this weekend and will come here on Monday,” Hanley said.

The German-based sport horse producer described Questfinder, who was known as ‘Swanky’, as a “lovely, kind horse” who was a gentle giant and loved the kids. “We had big ideas for him, he was just moving up to 1.50m level and we were aiming for the senior team next year. He was one of the top three horses in our yard.”