Olympian Shane Rose in ICU after Nasty Fall from Horse

Mar 15, 2024

Australian Olympian Shane Rose is in intensive care following a fall in a cross country training accident. His horse was uninjured in the fall.

“As the saying goes Peacock, one day Feather Duster the next! After a fantastic week in New Zealand Shane and Virgil secured their Olympic qualifications, this week Shane was bought back down to earth literally,” Shane Rose Eventing said on Instagram on Friday.

“Shane has suffered a badly broken femur, and a fractured pelvis and ribs. He has also suffered a heavy concussion. Shane had surgery this morning to stabilize the femur and pelvis.”

“Shane is in good medical hands with a great medical team and support network. While the timing is unfortunate we are hopeful there is adequate time for him to recover and still be able to continue his preparation schedule for the Paris Olympic Games.”

The accident comes just days after Rose and his 19 year-old horse Virgil secured their Olympic qualifications after winning the Land Rover CC14*-S at the Land Rover Horse of the Year 2024 in New Zealand.

It also comes just weeks after Rose became the focus of international attention after Equestrian Australia stood him down for wearing a mankini during a fancy dress showjumping event. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation into the matter.

Rose has suffered a number of setbacks in his career. In his late 20’s Rose was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. A few years later he was kicked in the face by a young racehorse putting him in a coma for a week and requiring extensive facial reconstruction. Today he wears eight plates in his face. In Separate incidents he’s torn his liver, punctured his lung and broken his ribs.

The three time Olympian (Beijing, Tokyo and Rio De Janeiro) was first selected to represent Australia at the age of 23 at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. But luck was not on his side when his horse went lame upon arrival in the United States preventing him from competing. The Australian team went on to win the gold medal. At the London Olympics Rose was left devastated and left the Olympic village after his horse was ruled out of the team with a shoulder injury.