By Jenny Dubin and Ronnie Polidoro
Rock Center
Neville Bardos, the U.S. Equestrian Federation International Horse of the Year, is gearing up for a potential spot on the U.S. Olympic team, a remarkable feat considering less than a year ago the champion horse was fighting for his life after surviving a deadly fire.
“Neville was the highest-placed American horse at the World Championships two years ago,” said Boyd Martin, the horse’s trainer. But after a fire broke out in Neville’s stable, the 12-year-old chestnut thoroughbred horse with a white muzzle was unrecognizable when he turned black from the smoke and ash. “The only thing you could see was Neville's two little eyes,” Martin said.
May 30, 2011
The fire happened at night last Memorial Day in a barn which housed 11 horses. “I remember driving out there and there was just this massive yellow glow in the sky," Martin told Rock Center’s Harry Smith in an interview airing Wednesday, May 9.
“I thought to myself, ‘you know, this is real bad and my life's about to change,’” said Martin, who purchased Neville after he graduated from high school in Australia.
Neville was destined for the slaughterhouse but Martin sensed he was a champion-caliber horse. The two placed 1st at the Melbourne CCI in 2006, 1st at the Fairhill CCI in 2009, and placed 4th at Kentucky CCI in 2010.
But disaster loomed at the True Prospect Farm in West Grove, PA. Martin fought his way past the firefighters and raced into the barn. Through a cloud of heavy smoke, Martin says he found a stable door and remembered hearing a gurgling noise.
Rock Center
Boyd Martin, Neville Bardos, and Harry Smith
“I had my shirt over my head and I remembered running in there and then I could feel, like, a horse cowering up in the corner,” Martin said.
Martin says he put his hands on the horse and felt his collar and dragged him out of the barn just moments before the blazing roof collapsed.
It helped that Neville was wearing a windsucking collar. It’s a collar that is placed around a horse’s neck to deter him from flexing his neck muscles whenever he tries to suck in air, a habit discouraged in competitive horses.
Before Martin arrived, four horses were pulled from the barn but Neville was the only one Martin himself was able to pull out alive. While the burns to his flesh were minimal, he had been in the fire for the better part of an hour and suffered severe smoke inhalation. Neville was in critical condition gasping for his life.
Neville was rushed to the hospital and treated daily in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in effort to speed his recovery. His condition improved so rapidly the results seemed miraculous. “You could see the horse every day getting fresher and stronger and more antsy,” said Martin.
After five weeks of recovery, Neville’s veterinarian suggested Martin take him for a walk. So Martin hopped on and walked him, but the walk turned into a trot and then the trot turned into a canter.
It had always been a dream of Martin’s to compete in England at the Burghley Horse Trials, one of the toughest three-day equestrian competitions in the world, but by the time Neville was on the mend, Martin only had eight weeks to get the horse ready.
Martin says a lot of people said it was a dumb idea to compete with the recovering horse, “But what people didn't understand is how much I knew this horse and what I was feeling every day and what I was reading as the trainer. And I knew before I got to Burghley that this horse was ready to go.”
Martin and Neville finished 7th, an extraordinary performance just three months after the fire.
“It confirmed that me as a person and Neville as a horse can deal with anything now,” Martin said.
The two mates have now set their sights on what would be the ride of their lives competing at the Olympics this summer. Their fate will be determined when the short list is announced June 17th and the Olympic team is announced July 2nd.
“All I can do is try my very hardest. And all Neville can do is try his very hardest. And if it's meant to be I think it's going to happen,” Martin said.
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I love the headline on MSNBC.
Horse eyes Olympics after life-threatening fire
How do they know what the horse is thinking? Did they get Mr. Ed to interview him?
Hey ...It could be a happy ending for him.... lighten up. It's is certainly better than what would have happened had that young man not come when he did .
Actually, animals who compete love the competition. I have shown horses and dogs, they both sense when an event is, and love the challenge. Animals can be highly competitive. It is clear which puppies will want to run an obstacle course and which would rather be primped and coddled for a show. Some want neither. Just like humans, each has their own personality. It takes a certain horse to compete at that level, and while you can prepare and train any horse, only one who wants to compete will do so at a high level. During the 1984 Olympics, I was fortunate enough that the stable I boarded at was temporary home to some of the Olympic competitor animals. I was vetted to exercise a few of these highly trained animals and they are unique unto themselves.
They would be foolish not to let him compete ... even through a special admission ... what an attention grabber and wonderful come back story ... raw courage on both parts!!!
I'm writing a letter ................
Whether you are a trainer of horses, dogs or any animal and have worked with a specific animal for years, you know that animal as if you know yourself. You become one with that animal. This horse has heart and soul and I'm sure his trainer knows what he wants and how he feels. I wish them all the best and hope they make it. I'll be watching for them.
To economykiller - That is a dumb thing to say. The horse is on the short list and will likely attend the olympic games in London, that is a fact. Why so mean about a dumb animal who cheated death twice.... do you hate animals or something???
One of the other people who commented on your post made a great point, that when one is competing with any animal that one becomes so bonded and thus connected that animal that one can sense how the animal will react before they do so.
I am not trying to be cute, but perhaps you could volunteer at a rescue of some sort, for small animals or for horses. Animals are great medicine. Teddy Rosevelt said "The ouside of a horse is very good for the inside of a man". He was a very smart man.
economykiller,
just watch as one of these horses drags his/her rider to the start box - chomping, snorting, walking on his hind end - just so he can get in and get out on that cross country course! My retired event horses out in the pasture can tell when I'm getting another horse ready for an event, and they throw a screaming bucking fit when I take the horse away on the trailer. And these horses could care less when I take that horse away for a lesson or something else. They know he's going to an event, and they're jealous because they want to be the ones going!
Close. It was Winston Churchill that said it, not Teddy Rosevelt, but the sentiment is what counts.
This a great story .....Hope he does well.
I think this horse is eyeing his oats and the mare in the next stable. You really have to be a dribbling idiot to think a horse cares about a race.
You clearly know nothing about horses. And it's not a "race" - it's eventing.
They do know .....zz
Some horses are more than animals; some are friends and some are just born to race. It is in their blood, they know what they are supposed to do when you put them on the track. In my opinion, they are some of the world's most beautiful creatures.
zz197...apparently you have never been around horses. Don't speak of what you don't know. You probably would have left this magnificent creature to burn to death never knowing the kind of courage these animal have.
You obviously have never shown any animal. Whether it's a race, a show or any type of competition, you know if an animal has his heart in it. You know if they are well enough mentally and physically and yes, they do know when an event is coming up and yes, they do get excited if they enjoy these events. No different than a child who knows they are having or going to a birthday party.
I event myself, and I can tell you, these horses LOVE it! It's a hard sport, and you can't force an animal to do this stuff. They have to love it to do it. If they don't love it, you can maybe do some at the lower levels, but not at the upper levels.
And while he may like the oats, he's a gelding. He could take or leave a mare.
This horse and owner have been through hell and back, give them a break. I think its a miracle the horse survived let alone that he can even compete for a spot on the Olympic team. Good luck to both on June 17th.
It is an Olympic sport that can only be excelled by a horse & rider that have become so close that they can almost read one another's thoughts. Very different from a horse race where the jockey may have just met the horse he rides. That partnership is what makes it special - at the elite level of eventing both horse and rider have to be supreme athletes & have complete trust in one another. That relationship is likely what saved Neville's life, as a panicked horse in a barn fire will often refuse to budge out of terror. Neville knew it was his partner, Boyd, and was thus able to overcome his fear & leave the fire. This is "my" sport so I don't expect general public to know all this but wanted to share as it really is a special Olympic story.
Good luck and best wishes to Neville and Martin as well. These two have shown exemplary courage. Martin for running into the fire to save his beloved horse and Neville for fighting to run another day.
May they be chosen for the olympic team and, hopefully, bring home the ultimate win, a gold medal. They both deserve it.
You are right Ms.C. That fact hasn't been brought up, specifically yet. That man, bravely ran into the fire to save his horse. God Bless him and the horse. This issue gives another wonderful dimension to this already miraculous story. Thank you!!
So very glad for Neville, I'll be watching him @ the Olympics. BTW, you can really tell the people who have been around horses or any animal and the people who haven't. Horses have personalities and some are trully competitive. zz-197.....is the dribbling idiot for not understanding animal behavior. I have five horses and one especially is very jealous and will push the others out of the way if he thinks they are getting all of the attention. He will stop eating to come over and get a pat and a rub. That's not instinct, that's emotion!
While I agree with you in regards to animals with personalities and empathy, if a person's not been around animals, you can't legitimately call them an "idiot" for not understanding them.
That is a good point however, people don't have to use derogatory comments to shape their invalid points. Everyone though has been around some animal in their lives. So, I don't buy the ignorance thought process, with respect to these comments.
My hopes go with Martin and Neville.. What a wonderful story of courage and bravery.. They are both winners no matter what happens.. I've been riding and training for 45 years and, while I may be American and will happily root for the USET (United States Equestrian Team), I will set aside a special place in my heart to root for these two to win their gold, they damn well deserve it!! Good luck you two!
Neville and Martin...good luck to you...I will be rooting for you all the way...Neville , if you don't win it's okay....we all love you and are glad you are alive..
1 goal
2 brains with different instincts
6 legs
205 & 206 bones in rider & horse
540 & 640 muscles in horse & rider
millions!!! of years of evolution
... all competing together in a "One in Moment in Time"
Yes, it is indeed extraordinary when any equestrian sports' pair win in competition. There is NO other athletic competition - NO TEAM, Pairs, Crew, NONE!!!! - that even comes close.
Go Neville & Martin.
Thank you so much for covering this story! An amazing story about love, hope and an amazing horseman! Great to see it on prime time tv! Thanks again Harry and ROCK on BOYD and NEVILLE!
Boyd and Neville, my family and I will have both of you in our thoughts and prayers now and through the competition. This is an amazing story. I am so impressed that you first saw Neville's abilities when he was tossed aside after he didn't win enough races. Sad.
However, I am more impressed that you had the courage to risk your life to save him from the roof collapsing. You deserve far more credit for that deed. I am glad the news has picked up this story!!!!
Neville was so brave to fight for his life the way he did. As a nurse who has worked in the JHBayview Burn Unit, I have heard from patients that smoke inhalation is very painful. It would have been easier for some horses to give up the fight. Neville is such an amazing horse!
Best of Luck to both of you but, I know, based upon the fantastic history, that both of you will do amazingly well!
I was lucky enought to just watch Boyd and Neville compete at the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event in Lexington. They are an amazing team!
Thank you NBC for covering a sport adored by so many, which is such a challenging sport and epitomizes the athleticism of horse and rider and the partnership only a true love of horses and the sport can create.
Setting my DVR now ... What a wonderful uplifting story and with a potential Olympic medal as a bonus! Previews: #c65686405
I sure hope the equestrian competitions get some great coverage in this Olympics. They tend to get swept aside a bit in favour of other competitions. I can't wait to see Boyd and Neville strut their stuff!
Do you believe?
I am so happy for Boyd and Neville. I'm gunning for you both!
This is not just a story about the horse but an Olympic hopeful being represented by a U.S. citizen! I hope that Boyd will be the new Michael Phelps story this year! Let's rally behind the Olympic duo.
As a rider and a person who is privileged to have a horse in their life, I loved this story. Hoping that Neville & Boyd are on the USA Olympic team. I do have one negative comment about the story - Harry Smith was not wearing a safety helmet while he was riding! After the story about soccer concussions and then the closing story on the unicycle rider who Brian Willaims commented on not wearing a helmet, someone should add a reminder that safety helmets are important. Baseball caps won't protect your head from injury!
Great Story! Good luck Neville and Boyd! Mr Smith I need to correct an error in your story. US horses are sent to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered for their meat to be served to European diners (133,000 last year per Animal Welfare Institute) not for dog food. To learn the facts (no gory photos or video) re slaughtered horses please go to www.stopslaughteringus.com, Thanks for your terrific story- the connection between man and horse is truly amazing!!
I just wanted to thank Rock Center for a great story. I am an equestrian and own an off the track thoroughbred. These "disposable" biproducts of the racing industry have much to offer. Although my gelding and certainly myself are not any where near Olympic caliber atheletes I can attest to the strong and mutually supportive bond between horse and rider. NBC, I thank you for the footage you gave to the Rolex and now to Boyd and Neville. (I'll be in line to buy tickets for their movie!) Please continue to give us more coverage of the upcoming Olympics and future FEI events.
Oh, and as a former instructor of neurosurgey I would like to add, "Put a helmet on!!"
I've read articles already about this great team; I've now watched this video three times and the tears flow every time; I wish Boyd and Neville all the best today, tomorrow and at the Olympics! What a tremendous story, can't wait to see the movie! I have a big blaze-faced TB at home that favors Neville somewhat and is a cribber too. He tried jumping but doesn't have the feet to participate. So I'm betting on Neville to carry on my dreams!
Undoubtly one of THE BEST story's of late, great job reporting........and good luck to both horse and rider
I will be praying and watching you both as you go after your dreams. I wish you much luck.