Equestrian Games, Paris 2024
BARTA director Jim Green has just returned from the Paris Olympics where he was invited by lead veterinarian Prof. Anne Couroucé to support a team of over 60 veterinary professionals who were on hand to ensure that riders and horses had the very best care throughout their time in Paris.
Jim’s role was to take a central position on the cross country course and respond to any serious incident as rescue team leader. At each fence were two veterinary professionals, supported within their sector by a further two vets including an anaesthesia specialist. Responding with Jim were equine ambulance leads and FEI officials, the overseers of international equine eventing.
Preparedness also included planning for an emergency which might have involved Le Grand Canal, a huge water feature which took centre stage at the prestigious event in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. Response to this type of eventuality was covered by the firefighters of Paris SDIS 78 who were a blend of water and animal rescue trained personnel, led by Commandant Marc Bidard, a good friend of BARTA for many years. Alongside the firefighters were members of the French Association of Firefighter Veterinarians who as well as practising vets are members of fire departments throughout France. https://www.anvsp.fr/
Tactics for managing a scenario where a horse and rider might fall into the 2m deep canal were drawn up and are believed to be the first of their kind for this type of emergency. Ramps were positioned strategically to walk an equine out and a tractor was on standby to perform an extrication which required lifting. But the key component was the control measure to prevent a loose horse moving freely along the mile long water way. Firefighters planned to deploy floating hose as a herding method, steered into place using a small powered watercraft device.
Clearly it was hoped there was no need to use this procedure, however the firefighters were keen to know whether this plan would be effective in a real incident. The best compromise occurred halfway through the competition when unexpectedly a deer was reported swimming in a section of the canal between vast crowds of onlookers. This could have been a huge distraction for organisers and caused members of the public to enter the waterway to attempt rescue. However, the swift deployment of their system by firefighters and vets proved the concept as they quietly corralled the deer at the bankside and released it into the woods.
Jim reflected; “I was truly privileged to have played a small part in preparedness for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. I would like to especially acknowledge Prof Anne Couroucé and Dr Cyril Tricaud who demonstrated such foresight and leadership in developing their response plan. I truly believe that support for a developing holistic approach to incident management, incorporating human and animal casualty priorities and multi disciplined scenario training will become core within equine eventing following the success of this event”