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© Mace Maclean

Safety

The Foundation will support and progress cross country safety, specifically frangibles, to reduce the number of other families that must endure the pain of losing a loved one in a rotational fall.

Fatal falls

Georgie died from a traumatic head injury during the cross-country phase of the CCI 4* at Bicton Arena International in the UK on 26 May 2024. She died at the scene following her experienced and favourite cross-country horse, Global Quest having a rotational fall at a non-frangible hanging log fence going into water. Georgie’s family and the Foundation’s Trustees are determined to support and progress cross country safety to reduce the number of other families that must endure the pain of losing a loved one in a rotational fall.

"The push needs to remain very strong because we need to get the 88% of serious horse falls at non-frangible fence number way down"

- Dr David Vos, aviation engineer and FEI Eventing Risk Management Steering Group member

The wider impact

Beyond the family, friends, and fellow competitors affected by a rotational fall fatality, such tragedies have a wide impact that is detrimental to the future of the sport.

For example:

  • The mental load of event organisers, officials, and spectators
  • Horse owners no longer wanting to support the sport
  • Grooms moving to show jumping and out of equestrianism
  • Riders avoiding the event where the incident occurred
  • Parents stopping their children from eventing
  • The general public’s perception of the sport via mainstream media coverage
Georgie Campbell jumping into water
© Tilly Berendt

What is a rotational fall

Rotational horse falls happen when a horse impacts a solid fence with its forelegs, often the forearm (above the knee), causing the horse’s forward momentum to suddenly convert into rotational motion. This can lead to the horse flipping over in mid-air and landing on its back, with the rider, still in their saddle, taking the impact of 500+ kilograms of horse.

The risk management strategy to reduce rotational falls and rider and horse fatalities and serious injuries in eventing spans improved course design, the strategic use of ground lines and visual aids, and frangible fences that ‘break away’ on impact.

Georgie Campbell jumping into water
© Tilly Berendt

A frangible solution

Frangible fence technology has been developed to help reduce the risk and severity of rotational falls by enabling the fence to lower on impact and lessen the rotational force.

1st Gen Frangibles

British Eventing introduce frangible Pins for post & rail uprights, oxers, triple bars & corners following a concentration of global fatalities. Pins release in response to vertical force.

BE Pins change to being fitted behind the upright rather than in front.

Red MIM Clips secure FEI approval. Developed by Mats Björnetun at MIM Safe in Sweden to be triggered by vertical or horizontal impact.

Frangibles tables launch.

Yellow MIM Clips for angled approaches are approved, enabling tables, gates, walls etc to collapse.

Transport Research Laboratory safety consultants and test experts independently verify all frangible devices.

FEI introduce new standard for frangible devices and testing.

2nd Gen Frangibles

Deformable trakehner launched at Osberton.

Foldable frangible parallelogram “chassis” applied to a broader range of fences inc:

  • More traditional looking tables
  • Roll-tops
  • Solid arrowheads
  • Holly feeders
  • Hanging logs

2nd generation frangibles

Over 2 decades on from the 1st frangibles and the safety movement is receiving renewed focus in response to recent fatalities at non-frangible jumps. These include Iona Sclater in the UK and Thaïs Méheust in France in 2019, Katharine Morel, her horse Kerry On, and Annie Goodwin in the US in 2020 & 2021 respectively, followed by Georgie Campbell’s death in the UK and the life-changing accident of Liz Halliday in the US, both in 2024.

This stark reality coupled with the adaptable usage opportunities of MIM Clips has led to research and development that is enabling new fence types to become frangible.

"It’s a step on the road, not the end result. The more people that push barriers and expand on ideas, the better."

- Stuart Buntine, Chairman of the FEI Eventing Risk Management Steering Group
Georgie Campbell jumping into water
© Tilly Berendt

NextGen hanging log

In 2023, non-frangible hanging logs saw 8.3% of serious horse falls. At the time of Georgie’s fall in May 2024, no sturdy hanging logs in the UK were or ever had been frangible. In March 2025 Stuart Buntine and his team at BEDE, with the support of MIM, launched the UK’s 1st frangible hanging log at Thoresby. Created by hollowing out the underside to remove 50-55% of the weight, the log is brought below the mass threshold for frangible operation.

Discover more about frangibles

The journey ahead

The Georgie Campbell Foundation is currently navigating the complexities of eventing’s global and national governing bodies to explore how we can best support the rollout of the next generation of frangibles. Areas of focus include:

  1. Expanding the use of frangible fences, spanning:
    • Usage of new frangible technology across all BE100 courses and above, including:
      • Recreating existing fences to make them frangible
      • Replacing fences that cannot be made frangible with frangible alternatives
      • Upgrading old frangible fences where required
  2. Raising funds for the distribution of frangible kits as we know cost is a big obstacle to the increased use of frangibles
    • Drawing inspiration from the USEA Foundation which has raised over $800,000 to provide free frangible equipment for all US eventing competitions and facilitated the University of Kentucky's Collapsible Fence Technology Study
    • Supporting the FEI's intention to raise £1 million for 1,000 frangible fences in the coming year to allow federations and individual events to apply for frangible kits
  3. Supporting research, development, and testing of future frangible solutions such as natural twisted and bent rails and more substantial hanging logs
Georgie Campbell jumping into water
© Tilly Berendt
Log with mim clips installed
© Tilly Berendt

Guiding principles

The Foundation feels strongly about the application of these 3 principles:

  1. Measurement and clear goal setting
    • because what gets measured gets done and a goal to aim for is always compelling
    • if the goal is for every fence at BE100 equivalent level and above* that can be frangible, to be frangible, this needs a robust definition that is regularly reevaluated to keep it in-line with R&D progress
  2. Establishing the baseline
    • of the fences that are currently frangible
    • e.g. recording the number of non-frangible hanging logs so that their conversion to becoming frangible can be measured
  3. Developing a roadmap
    • to guide the journey towards the goal
    • to aid prioritisation
    • and help unite all global stakeholders

* fences below BE100 equivalent level do not have the required 20cm drop required to make them frangible

How to support

There is a real opportunity to progress tangible, systemic change, save lives and reduce life-changing injuries.

Here are some initial ideas of ways you can get off the fence and support the cause right now:

Event organisers


  • Record your current frangible position and measure and communicate growth
  • Instruct course designers and builders to create as many frangible fences as possible
  • Highlight frangible fences in sponsorship packs
  • Communicate frangible fences on the xc app and other communication channels

Course designers and builders

  • Learn about frangibles
  • Analyse existing fences for how they can be recreated or replaced to make them frangible
  • Every time you create a new fence, ask "can it be frangible?"
  • Collaborate and share with your counterparts
  • Innovate wherever possible

Technical Advisors and Delegates

  • Instil confidence on frangible use with event organisers, course designers/builders, and jump judges
  • Feed positive case studies back into international and national governing bodies

Riders

  • Ask event organisers and designers to use more frangible fences
  • Respond to 11 penalties for a frangible activation with perspective

Corporate sponsors

  • Ask for/demand that your sponsored fence is frangible
  • Fund frangible technology and rotational fall research
  • Support fundraising initiatives

Individuals

  • Educate yourself and others on frangibles
  • Communicate about frangibles and ask questions
  • Be a frangibles advocate
  • Support fundraising initiatives

International and national governing bodies

  • Coordinate and deliver a global frangibles grant fund
  • Mandate frangibles rather than recommending them for all BE100 equivalent and above courses
  • Record the current frangible baseline position
  • Agree goals, a roadmap, and measurement metrics
  • Drive global collaboration
  • Communicate progress
  • Implement an appeal process for soft activations

Let's pull together so that the eventing ecosystem can continue to do what it loves but do it more safely. If we don't drive this forward, who will?

Reach out to start a conversation and exchange ideas

"Other sports more dangerous than ours have made huge leaps in the safety area; F1 and the NFL come to mind."

- Phillip Dutton, US event rider and 7-time Olympian

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© Oriel Gordon

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