Equestrian death prompts lawsuit

By Joshua D. Scroggin

Nearly six months after freshman equstrienne Shana Eriksson died after an on-campus riding accident, the professor who initially requested an ambulance said nothing has changed to prevent a future accident.

“ They’re still doing it,” animal science professor Scott Williamson said. “They’re still crossing Barstow at any time of the day.

“ Really, I don’t think anything has changed to prevent it from happening again.”

The 18-year-old Eriksson was riding her horse near the campus dairy Sept. 24, when the horse became spooked, reared back and fell on top of her.

Eriksson was taken to University Medical Center where she died three days later.

Eriksson’s parents, Stan and Karan Eriksson, have filed a $10 million negligence claim against the university, alleging their daughter’s death was the result of the school’s lack of supervision.

“ We’re distressed that the largest college horse show program in the U.S. had inadequate coaching, supervision and medical response for an injured athlete,” Karan Eriksson said.

The day after the accident, Williamson told The Collegian he was disappointed with the campus police’s and the ambulance’s response time.

“ According to my cell phone bill, I called at 5:09,” Williamson said. “The ambulance didn’t get here until 5:29.”

“ It takes a minute and a half at the most,” Williamson said, “obeying the speed limit going from the police station to the site of the accident.”

University Director of Public Safety David Moll told The Collegian in September the time between when the accident happened and when the ambulance arrived was close to 10 minutes according to the campus’ log. Moll said Williamson’s estimation of a 20- to 25-minute gap was due to psychological effects of experiencing emergencies.

The Erikssons’ claim came less than two weeks after the Fresno Bee reported horses being drugged prior to competitions.

At the time of Eriksson’s accident, Fresno State’s equestrian team was in between coaches.

Seven-year coach Megan McGee resigned in July and told The Collegian in August it was partly due to the university’s unwillingness to cooperate with her desire to expand the program’s facilities.

The university was planning to announce the hiring of new coach Chuck Smallwood the day after Eriksson’s accident, Assistant Athletic Director Steve Weakland told The Collegian on Sept. 25. But the accident put those plans on hold.

The morning after the accident, Williamson told The Collegian the dairy cows rushed the fence near the area where Eriksson and two other equestriennes were riding. Williamson said the charging cows were what caused Eriksson’s horse to panic.

Thursday, he said he could not comment on details of the incident. Williamson said animal science and agricultural education department chair Art Parham and director of ag operations Karl Pherson told Williamson on March 9 not to comment on the incident outside the presence of a lawyer representing the university.

Parham said Thursday that the university informed all employees to refer questions and discussion about the incident to university relations. He said he was told it was the university’s policy once litigation has been filed.

“ I was ordered to talk to everyone in [the animal science department] after the article you saw in the Bee,” Parham said.

The Bee article was printed prior to litigation being filed. University spokesman Tom Uribes said Thursday the university had not received an official claim from the State of California Board of Control.

“ They’re trying to take my right of free speech away from me,” Williamson said, “and I don’t think that should happen—especially at the university.”

Williamson did say the dairy—located just east of the Woodrow and Barstow avenue intersection—is in an unsafe area to ride, but that nothing is keeping riders from entering the area, even after Eriksson’s death.

“ To my knowledge, nothing’s changed,” Williamson said, “because we have all the same players over there.”

The university’s official statement on the accident says the accident occurred during a recreational horseback ride, and prior reports said Eriksson was on her own horse, not one owned by the university. The Erikssons’ claim alleges the three riders left the equestrian center because it was undergoing maintenance.

Smallwood said the team does not have control over where students who board their own horses in the student horse center ride them, whether or not the students are on the equestrian team.

“ They have permission to ride on all CSU agricultural ground,” Smallwood said. He said when they do leave the center, it is not during practice hours.

Smallwood said he cannot make changes to the rules and that there would have to be a policy change to limit the areas where students could ride their own horses.

The policy change could potentially depend on the outcome of the Erikssons’ claim against the university.

Karan Eriksson said she is worried about the safety of the riders still on the team because equestrian is an emerging NCAA sport with no guidelines.

“ We have been working since October with the U.S. Equestrian Federation, the Varsity Steering Committee and the NCAA on the first set of safety guidelines for athletic directors on equestrian,” Eriksson said. She said the guidelines would be published in June.

Uribes said he is unsure what the status of the claim is at this point. The university had not received it by Thursday.

Uribes said once the claim is received from the Board of Control, the board will provide instructions and a timeline for a response. After the university makes a response, it will go back to the board for a final review.

If the claim is denied, the Erikssons can then precede with a lawsuit.