Keep Your Stirrups!

Sophie Sheppard had a rather more eventful round at the Beaufort than she would have liked.


“My stirrup iron snapped after fence 5! I looked down and it was gone.”

Incredibly Sophie stayed on and continued, completing the course for Team Ride Away I to finish in second place. Most riders would not have the core strength and balance to do that, and stirrups breaking can lead to painful falls, even when doing something less challenging than team chasing.

While it’s true that even traditional steel or nickel stirrup irons can become brittle and snap, technical stirrups are increasingly popular.

Sophie’s stirrup was of a flexible design, intended to offer greater comfort when riding – inside the rubber covering there is a series of links which give the flexibility. These need to be checked regularly as they can corrode and then snap.

There’s also growing range of stirrups which have safety release systems. These are ideal in principle for team chasing. But they come with the added requirement to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on ensuring they are fitted correctly, that they are maintained to the manufacturer’s instructions and that you CHECK THEM REGULARLY to make sure that they are still in good condition and the mechanism works properly.

Sophie comments: “I was a little sore the next day but it could have been worse. It’s definitely been an eye opener for me to check my tack for wear and tear!”