Langley Olympic equestrian rider Hawley Bennett-Awad is recovering in a London hospital after being thrown from her horse, Gin & Juice, at the cross country event on Monday.
The Murrayville native was taken to Royal London Hospital, where she was being treated for a concussion “which is improving significantly,”and a stable sacral fracture, according to a release from the Canadian Olympic Committee.
It’s reported that her horse wasn’t injured in the fall.
Bennett-Awad’s husband had posted on her Facebook page that she was OK and asking about her horse. He also posted a picture of her in her hospital bed, giving a thumbs up.
The fall means 35-year-old Bennett-Awad’s has been eliminated from competition and that her Olympic dreams for London are over. She was the top Canadian — sitting 31st overall — heading into Monday’s event.
Bennett-Awad was the second rider to get hurt on Monday morning. Another Canadian, Peter Barry, crashed on the course, but wasn’t injured.
The course, situated at London’s Greenwich Park, is reported to have razor-sharp turns, blind two-metre drops and tricky jumps.
Bennett-Awad was a member of Canada’s team that won silver at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.