Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010094
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANNE GEARAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CULPEPER LENGTH: Medium
Reeve somersaulted over the neck of his horse Saturday as the animal approached a jump during a cross-country race in the Virginia countryside.
The race through woods, over fields and through streams includes a variety of obstacles that test the skill and endurance of horse and rider. Riders race the clock as they direct their horses over jumps made of solid wood or stone.
``It is not like riding and jumping in a ring at all. The jumps do not give if you hit them, and they are placed at odd angles to make it more difficult,'' said John ``Monk'' Reynolds, owner of the Culpeper riding grounds where Reeve was competing in the Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association horse trials.
Reeve, 42, has competed as a ``three-day eventer'' for about eight years and is considered an advanced beginner. Participants train for months for a single competition, just as runners do for a marathon. Competitions are held nationwide in the fall and spring.
The three-day event, also called combined training, begins with a day of ring performance, when horses execute the highly exacting dance steps called dressage to demonstrate obedience and agility.
Next comes the heart of the competition, the daylong field trials that are designed to show the animal's speed, strength and willingness.
``It is a test of heart for both horse and rider,'' said Liz Hoskinson, spokeswoman for the American Horse Shows Association, which sanctions and judges combined training competitions.
The third day, horse and rider return to the ring for a short jumping session, ``to prove that the horse can come back after the very difficult day before,'' Hoskinson said. A veterinarian checks the animals after each phase.
Reeve successfully negotiated two jumps on the twisting, 18-jump course Saturday. But as his thoroughbred, Eastern Express, approached a 3-foot log jump, the animal stopped short, or ``refused,'' in horse show lingo.
Reeve, star of the ``Superman'' movies, landed almost squarely on his head on the far side of the zigzag log fence.
He was wearing a helmet and was competing at an appropriate level for his ability, Reynolds said. The horse was uninjured.
On Wednesday, Reeve's doctor at the University of Virginia Medical Center said the actor is paralyzed and cannot breathe on his own, but would not speculate on his long-term prognosis.
Celebrity horsemen are fairly common in the horse country of Virginia's Blue Ridge, but Reeve is unusual in that he does not compete in the better-known and more glamorous ``hunter-jumper'' arena.
Actor Robert Duvall and author Rita Mae Brown live nearby and are regulars on that circuit. Actress Linda Blair is an accomplished horsewoman who has competed at Commonwealth Park for years, and comedian Tommy Smothers used to show there, owner Reynolds said.
Actresses Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek own horse farms nearby. So reportedly do Yoko Ono and Tom Selleck.
``They just kind of do it quietly. Everyone pretty much leaves them alone,'' Reynolds said.
by CNB