AIKEN, S.C. — The horses’ straw beds were ablaze, with the rest of the barn, when two men rushed in against the flames and black smoke to try to save the 11 horses inside.
Fire Survivor and a Possible Olympian: A Horse Named Neville
Jan 13, 2012
From the New York Times.
Josh Haner/The New York Times
Neville Bardos is a finalist for international Horse of the Year. More Photos »
By MARY PILON
Published: January 12, 2012
Multimedia
Josh Haner/The New York Times
The trainer Boyd Martin bought Neville Bardos in Australia. More Photos »
“It was horrific,” said Boyd Martin, the trainer. “Basically, you could see some of my horses burnt to death.”
Six were dead. Four others escaped. Neville Bardos, a chestnut gelding and the last living horse in the barn, was found in a corner. They heard him gurgling.
Neville’s throat and lungs were scorched from smoke inhalation, and other parts of his body were burned.
From that scene about seven months ago, Neville, who competes in the multidiscipline sport of eventing, has managed a competitive comeback that defied any prognosis from doctors, his owners and others in the equestrian world. He was the top American horse at a prestigious competition in England just three months after the fire, and has had strong showings in several other events.
Now Neville is among three finalists for international Horse of the Year, to be given Friday by the United States Equestrian Federation to the “horse that has excelled above all others in equestrian competition.”
“And then there’s Neville Bardos,” Joanie Morris, a federation spokeswoman, said. “We’ve never seen anything like him.”
Neville, with his thoroughbred pedigree, a name borrowed from an Australian gangster and socks of white on his right front leg and right back leg, may earn even more international fanfare later this year: he is a top contender for a berth in the Summer Olympics in London, where Britain’s historic affinity for equestrian events will give the sport an unusually high profile.
“If Neville had just gone on to live in the backyard, that itself would have been a miracle,” said Martin, who assumed his horse was fated for a life of grazing — if he lived at all. “But now he’s bound for the Olympics and is a real contender.”
Martin’s parents were Olympians — his mother a speedskater and his father a cross-country skier. Martin and his wife, Silva, are competitive riders and trainers whose horses split time between stables here in western South Carolina and in West Grove, Pa. They moved to the United States from Australia in 2007, five years after they purchased Neville for $850. He was a slow racehorse.
“He was headed for slaughter for dog food,” Boyd Martin said.
While some racehorses peak in their younger years and move on to breeding, equestrian horses tend to be older and require complex training. Neville’s sport, eventing, is an equine triathlon: a rider and his or her horse compete in a cross-country obstacle course, show jumping and dressage. Although many top equestrian horses started their competitive careers on the track, it can take years to train one to perform well in all three eventing disciplines.
Neville’s early results were poor. In a 2002 event, Silva Martin fell from Neville when he was spooked by a fence. It took 15 minutes to catch Neville so he could complete the course.
“I was hoping he would calm down and chill out a bit,” Boyd Martin said. “Definitely not in his genes.”
Though Neville did not chill out, he did improve in competition. In 2006, he won an international title in Melbourne, Australia. In 2007, he placed fourth at a top international event, the Fair Hill C.C.I., and the next year was ninth in another, the Rolex Kentucky C.C.I.
In 2010, after Neville placed 10th and was the top finisher among American horses at the World Equestrian Games, Martin began to prepare him for the Olympics. Neville was based at True Prospect Farm, which specializes in training eventing horses.
At 12:30 a.m. on May 31, Boyd Martin was awakened by his ringing cellphone. The barn was on fire.
Neville was taken to an emergency facility affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett Square, Pa. Over the next several weeks, he was treated by one of the most accomplished teams of horse doctors in the world — some members of the same team that treated the racehorse Barbaro with great acclaim after he broke down at the 2006 Preakness Stakes.
“It became clear he was the sickest horse there,” said Dr. Samantha Hart, a veterinarian who treated the five surviving horses that night.
A breathing tube was inserted in Neville’s nose. He was given antibiotics and intravenous fluids. He underwent treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen tank to speed the healing of his lungs.
“Basically, his whole open airway was burnt,” Dr. Hart said. “Breathing is an important part of his being an athlete. We thought this would greatly limit his ability.”
The Martins largely abandoned any hope that Neville would compete again. “We were happy he was alive,” Boyd Martin said.
Little was left of the barn. Gift baskets of carrots were sent to the surviving horses. A fund-raiser at the Whip Tavern, down the road from True Prospect Farms, raised $6,800 for three stablehands and riders who lost many of their possessions in the fire. (The cause of the fire remains undetermined.)
Meanwhile, Neville’s condition improved — so rapidly that his handlers said they sensed that he was not content to graze in the yard.
“You could tell he was a bit anxious,” a stablehand, Lindsey Taylor, said. “Little by little, we started moving him into short workouts. He just wanted it.”
About three months after the fire, Neville placed seventh at the Burghley Horse Trials in England, one of the world’s most prestigious equestrian events.
“Neville cheated death — twice,” Boyd Martin said, referring to the time he purchased Neville and then the fire. “It’s a miracle.”
This weekend, Silva Martin will ride Neville in a dressage competition in Florida in an effort to hone his skills in his weakest of the three eventing disciplines. By July, the Martins will know if Neville has earned a spot on the United States team in London, where the Summer Games will commemorate the 100th anniversary of equestrian as an Olympic event.
Neville, now 12, appears to have few remaining scars from the fire. Doctors have deemed him physically recovered, although sirens startle him, as does smoke.
“I guess we better be careful around that torch,” Boyd Martin said about the Olympic flame.
Safety and Emergency Preparedness Seminar Featured Topic at Horse Industry Meeting
Dec 6, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Julie Calzone
jcalzone@calzone.com
337.235.2924 ext. 18
(Lafayette, La.) - Equine Alert owner, Julie Calzone, will join Holly Matt of Pegasus Design Group and Tom Simmons to discuss a variety of topics including: safe design and management, new technology in very early smoke detection apparatus, natural disaster response plans, safety systems, and safety management training. The seminar is scheduled for this Friday at the US Eventing Conference in Nashville, TN.
Eventing could be termed an "equestrian triathlon." It involves working with a horse both on the flat and over fences. The three phases are: dressage, endurance (or cross-country), and show jumping. It has developed from the test of the ideal military charger over the centuries. Eventing has now evolved into an exciting sport, attracting interest from all levels of sports enthusiasts, from weekend hobby riders to professional international stars.
The USEA membership represents some of the top equestrian athletes who compete world wide at Olympic, World Cup and Championship events.
"We are here to assist equestrian facilities in the U.S. with safety and security systems," said Calzone. "Equine Alert has scaled its operations to provide complete training, monitoring and protocol systems for emergencies and security at equestrian-related businesses nationally."
The company has partnered with national monitoring and technology companies to provide full-scale development, installation and monitoring of security, fire, video and audio systems for facilities that house horses.
Partners were carefully selected because of their foundation in emergency and safety management. Equine Alert designs and installs systems to meet whatever a horse facility needs, especially with increased codes and permit requirements. Whether it is a foal watch camera or a completely integrated system of sprinklers, fire, security and video monitoring, Equine Alert is equipped to do it all.
“It is an important issue for horse owner to address,” said Calzone. “Whether at the stables or on the road, an ounce of prevention and preparation is worth thousands of pounds of cure. Our hope is that they never have to put a plan into action, but it is critical that facility owners and managers look at what it takes to be prepared for any kind of emergency. We are encouraging personnel to do something; practice fire drills, meet with the local fire department, analyze facilities and have a solid plan.”
Equine Alert is based in the Gulf Coast region of the United States and is taking advantage of decades of expertise in the energy sector and hurricane storm response to produce its systems.
Julie Calzone began her career as a rock and roll promoter and successfully transformed a one-person advertising design shop (calzone.com) into a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm with a wide range of local, regional and national clients. With a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and a Master of Science in Personnel from St. Bonaventure University, she definitely has the background along with a “can do” attitude.
Julie is an amateur horse owner, rider and breeder of European sport horses.
Over the past four years she has combined her passion for horses with entrepreneurship to found two more companies that serve the equestrian market. With partners Tom and Carolyn Stinnett, Equine Motorcoach™ manufactures all-in-one motorized RV and horse transport vehicles. The company recently cornered the market on a towable horse transport that is branded Equine Carriage™.
Her most recent venture, Equine Alert, has been in research and development for two years. Her vision was to create a business that leveraged technology to increase the safety and security at horse farms, veterinary clinics, and equestrian facilities and show grounds. Equine Alert scaled its operations to provide complete training, monitoring and protocol systems for emergencies and security at equestrian-related businesses nationally.
She serves on the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Advisory Board and dedicates time to the horse program at Angola Prison in Louisiana. She organizes their public horse auctions, which reaps monetary and behavioral rewards for Louisiana Prison Enterprises and the trustees. Her ad agency serves a variety of equestrian clientele.
Calzone Named to Emergency Preparedness Panel at United States Eventing Association Annual Convention.
Oct 6, 2011
(Lafayette, La.) - Julie Calzone, Equine Alert founder and owner, has been chosen to speak on a panel about emergency preparedness for equestrian related facilities at the United States Eventing Association convention in Nashville, Tennessee in early December.
Eventing could be termed an "equestrian triathlon." It involves working with a horse both on the flat and over fences. The three phases are: dressage, endurance (or cross-country), and show jumping. Over the centuries it has developed from the test of the ideal military charger. Eventing has now evolved into an exciting sport attracting interest from all levels of sports enthusiasts, from weekend hobby riders to professional international stars.
The USEA membership represents some of the top equestrian athletes who compete world wide at Olympic, World Cup and Championship events.
"We are here to assist equestrian facilities in the U.S. with safety and security systems," said Calzone. "Equine Alert has scaled its operations to provide complete training, monitoring and protocol systems for emergencies and security at equestrian related businesses nationally."
The company has partnered with Acadian Monitoring Services, Safety Management Systems and Convergint Technologies to provide full-scale development, installation and monitoring of security, fire, video and audio systems for facilities that house horses.
The partners were carefully selected because of their foundation in emergency and safety management. Equine Alert designs and installs systems to meet whatever a horse facility needs, especially with the increased codes and permit requirements. Whether it is a foal watch camera or a completely integrated system of sprinklers, fire/security/video monitoring, Equine Alert is equipped to do it all.
Equine Alert is based in the Gulf Coast region of the United States and is taking advantage of decades of expertise in the energy sector. The company has also begun a relationship with Knight Security, which covers the state of Texas.
Julie Calzone began her career as a rock and roll promoter and successfully transformed a one-person advertising design shop (Calzone - calzone.com) into a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm with a wide range of local, regional and national clients. With a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and a Master of Science in Personnel from St. Bonaventure University, she definitely has the background along with a “can do” attitude.
Julie is an amateur horse owner, rider and breeder of European sport horses.
Over the past four years she has combined her passion for horses with entrepreneurship to found two more companies that serve the equestrian market. Equine Motorcoach™ manufacturers all-in-one motorized RV and horse transport vehicles. The company recently cornered the market on a towable horse transport that is branded Equine Carriage™. Her most recent venture, Equine Alert, has been in research and development for two years.
Her most recent venture, Equine Alert, has been in research and development for two years. Her vision was to create a business that leveraged technology to increase the safety and security at horse farms, veterinary clinics, equestrian facilities and show grounds. Equine Alert scaled its operations to provide complete training, monitoring and protocol systems for emergencies and security at equestrian-related businesses nationally.
She serves on the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Advisory Board and dedicates time to the horse program at Angola Prison in Louisiana. She organizes their public horse auctions, which reaps monetary and behavioral rewards for Louisiana Prison Enterprises and the trustees. Her ad agency serves a variety of equestrian clientele.
Safety Management Systems Integration
Oct 3, 2011
The equestrian facility market is experiencing a new dynamic. Rural areas are now being incoporated into city jurisdictions that now require permits by the Fire Marshall and other permitting authorities.
Horse farm and facility owners are turning to Equine Alert to efficiently and cost effectively address these issues. While at first glance, they seem like an insurmountable problem, they are easily resolved by using Equine Alert's team of experts. The team includes safety management professionals and fire, security and video monitoring specialists.
It takes one phone call to Equine Alert and it is on its way to resolution.
Julie Calzone
julie@equinealert.com
(337) 235-2924 Extension 21
Now Much More Than Cameras
Aug 3, 2011
Equine Alert has scaled its operations to provide complete training, monitoring and protocol systems for emergencies and security at equestrian related businesses nationally.
The company has partnered with Acadian Monitoring Services, Safety Management Systems and Convergint Technologies to provide full-scale development, installation and monitoring of security, fire, video and audio systems for facilities that house horses.
Equine Alert is based in the Gulf Coast region of the United States and is taking advantage of decades of expertise in the energy sector. The company has also begun a relationship with Knight Security which covers the state of Texas.
“As the business developed, we realized there was much more to do than provide camera monitoring,” said Julie Calzone, Equine Alert founder. “We needed to scale the business for inquiries that are coming in from throughout the United States.”
“The partners were carefully selected because their foundation is emergency and safety management,” said Calzone. “Additionally, many of their people came from the first responder ranks.”
“As we move forward, we will design and install systems to meet whatever a horse facility needs,” said Calzone. “Whether it is a foal watch camera or a completely integrated system of sprinklers, fire/security/video monitoring, we are equipped to do it all.”
Equine Alert is reaching out to veterinarians, architects, first responders as well as owners of equestrian establishments.
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Latest News
Fire Survivor and a Possible Olympian: A Horse Named Neville
Jan 13, 2012
Safety and Emergency Preparedness Seminar Featured Topic at Horse Industry Meeting
Dec 6, 2011
Calzone Named to Emergency Preparedness Panel at United States Eventing Association Annual Convention.
Oct 6, 2011