Remember when Captain Kirk almost injured himself riding in a horse cart competition?
Despite being thrown from his cart, William Shatner made an impressive recovery and went on to show us how true horsemen handle the unexpected.
When you show horses, unexpected moments are bound to happen. Putting horses - animals whose response to fear is generally to spook or bolt - in the busy environment of a horse show only increases the chances that something will go wrong. But skilled horsemen can often recover from these incidents, going on to have a successful show day. William Shatner is one of these horsemen.
The actor is an avid horseman who both rides and drives, and when things went wrong during a recent driving class, Shatner handled it like a pro. Despite being thrown from his cart, he recovered, even going on to win his driving class.
Take a look at the incident below.
Being able to recover from an incident and move on is one of the most important - and one of the most difficult - lessons for riders to learn. There's an element of fear when things go wrong, and it's hard to shake off the fact that we can get seriously hurt in this sport. However, the more that we make of a spook or a bolt, the more we're increasing the chance of it happening again in the future.
It's particularly true when you're riding a spooky horse. If you make a big deal of a spook, you're reinforcing the fact that the horse was right to have been afraid. Instead, simply focusing on resuming the ride with the least amount of commotion as possible can reassure your horse while hopefully also teaching him that the spook was unwarranted.
READ MORE: How to Regain Your Confidence After a Bad Riding Fall
As riders, we deal with the unexpected every day. The better we can move on and regain our focus afterward, the better the potential outcome for each and every ride and horse show.
This horse-and-buggy show looks intense! Captain Kirk or actor William Shatner of course easily saves himself from injury by recovering from the incident and the buggy competition continues.
TMZ.com tells us,
The cart, called a sulky, is what flipped and sources say that Capt. Kirk and his steed were uninjured.
Shatner was participating in a horse and buggy competition at the Mercer County Fair & Horse Show in Harrodsburg, KY, where he was entered on the amateur level.
Even with the accident, he took first place!
What's the most unusual thing to have happened to you at a show? Let us know in the comments below!
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