Just days after she was named as the traveling reserve for the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with Royce, Margie Engle took a fall off a different horse and broke her collarbone.
Engle, 56, was warming up Böckmann’s Lazio for the $75,000 Agero Grand Prix at the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament in Halifax, Mass., on Aug. 17 when she fell. “The horse jumped the last jump in the warm-up, and when he landed he hit a soft spot in the footing and went down,” she said. “It wasn’t the horse’s fault at all.
“He jumped fine, but when he landed, he stumbled and cantered kind of on his knees for a few strides, then he fell on his side. When he went down, it threw me onto my left shoulder,” Engle continued. “I got right up and walked around. All I could think was, ‘I can’t believe this is happening to me.’ I was hoping it wasn’t broken! I actually got back on and started to ride around. But then I felt the collarbone with my other hand and I could feel that it wasn’t right.”
Engle asked the attending horse show veterinarian to x-ray the area. “He said it didn’t look good, so then we started thinking about what doctor to go to. I didn’t go to the emergency room,” she said.
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Engle has been icing the collarbone and resting; she has an appointment on the afternoon of Aug. 18 with an orthopedic specialist. “Kim and Charlie Jacobs got me an appointment with the doctor who treats the players on the Boston Bruins [ice hockey team],” she said. “The doctor has said that there are a couple of different things he could do to fix it. He has to see better x-rays and make a plan. I’ll know then whether he can put it back together in time [for the World Games].”
Engle isn’t yet sure of whether she can continue in her role as reserve for the U.S. World Games team. She’s spoken with U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland about the situation and plans to fill him in after her doctor’s appointment results in a treatment plan.
Engle joins a list of famous riders with broken collarbones this year—Beezie Madden, Scott Stewart and Kelley Farmer.
