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From Mankini to Man of Steel: Olympic Eventer Shane Rose Has Come Through More Than the Qualifiers

Shane Rose (AUS) presents Virgil at the Eventing First Horse Inspection at the Chateau de Versailles for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo Credit: FEI/Benjamin Clark

On Saturday, July 27, the top eventing athletes from around the globe will kick-off dressage competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Among them will be three-time Olympic medalist Shane Rose. And while he’s no stranger to the Opening Ceremonies, this Games may have a slightly different feel for the 51-year-old New South Wales native.

Across the world, Rose is perhaps best-known, of late, for making international headlines in February when he wore a Borat-inspired mankini in a just-for-fun class during a community competition. Rose was roundly chastised by Equestrian Australia, who even opened an investigation into his conduct, suspending him at a critical moment during the Olympic qualification season.

Thankfully, public opinion around the globe was largely in the eventer’s favor, and Equestrian Australia soon agreed to put their investigation to rest. At least symbolically, it should have been an “all-clear” for Rose—currently the 10th-highest-ranked Australian in the World Eventing Rankings—who was officially selected for the 2024 Paris Team a few weeks later.  

Then, March came.

That month, after a successful week campaigning his Olympic partner Virgil in New Zealand, Rose suffered a serious fall off while schooling cross-country at a training camp after the horse he was riding landed on top of him. He was rushed to the hospital, where it was learned that Rose had broken 11 bones in 19 places, including his femur, pelvis, and ribs. He also suffered a serious concussion.

A video published by Australia’s ABC Sports on Instagram shows Rose, who had no memory of the fall, receiving the news from his wife, fellow eventer Niki Rose, in his hospital bed.

“When are the Games?” he asks.

“In four months,” Niki tells him, explaining that his horse, Bandit, fell on him.

“He fell on me?” Rose asks, adding dryly, “That’s not ideal.”

Not ideal for an Olympic appearance in less than a few months, to be sure. But not impossible. And for Shane Rose, “not impossible” was all that was needed.

For the next four months, the Australian eventer worked tirelessly at his rehab—a journey chronicled on his Instagram.

After being restricted to bed rest for six weeks, a wheelchair-bound Rose was shown visiting horses at his stable. Once cleared for rehab, he worked out on the bike and in the pool, eventually moving from sitting in his wheelchair to walking along behind it.

By May, the father of four was walking with a cane and was back to working out in the gym, while his wife, Niki, kept the Australian-bred Virgil in top form. Rose, himself, was back in the saddle by early June, even competing at the CCN4* S Melbourne International Three-Day Event on another horse.

If his warp-speed recovery seems unreal—super-human even—keep in mind that this is not the first major fall, or even significant health hurdle, that Rose has faced down in his career.

Not by a long shot.  

In 2001, then in his late twenties, Rose was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. A long-time breaker of young horses, he’s been kicked in the head and face, needing plastic surgery to have it rebuilt. In previous falls, Rose has broken both arms, both legs, both wrists, and a thumb. He’s punctured his lung and split his liver, then earned a golden staph infection for his troubles.

Bob Seger may not have written his famous 1986 ballad Like a Rock for Shane Rose. But it’s pretty clear that Shane Rose makes even Chevy trucks look soft. 

Rose was ultimately cleared for competition at the 2024 Games in Paris, where he’ll compete alongside teammates Chris Burton and Shadow Man and Kevin McNab and Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam.

At 19 years old, Rose’s horse Virgil is a fittingly stalwart partner.

He’s currently the second most senior mount in eventing competition in Paris (that honor goes to Ecuadorian entry Forever Young Wundermaske), but he’s also one of the most decorated equine athletes Down Under. In his 13-year career, in fact, Virgil has earned more international victories than any other Australian horse (since 2008).

In other words, if you’re looking for an eventing team to cheer on this weekend, consider dropping an “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!” for Shane Rose and Virgil. They’ve certainly done their work to get here.

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