Warwick – along with his wife Carolina, their children, and Grand Prix horse Le Special – were just two-and-a-half hours from Munich and en route to the CDI there when the accident occurred on 13 May. Warwick had been scheduled to compete Le Special (Grey Flanell x Sir Oldenburg) in the CDI3* Grand Prix.
“It was very scary and we are extremely lucky,” Warwick said. “We all had to brake very fast because of something ahead. The two trucks behind me saw and also braked and stopped, but the third truck didn’t and hit us all at 88km/hr from behind.”
Despite the severity of the impact, Warwick, his family and Le Special all escaped serious injury. Warwick explained that having only one horse on board likely helped minimise the outcome of the accident.
“Luckily we just had one horse on board, but my wife and kids were with us too, so it was extremely traumatic for the kids, but they are all okay,” he said.
Le Special sustained a laceration to the groin after a large piece of steel penetrated underneath him in the truck, requiring staples, while the impact also caused him to fall.
“Le Special had some staples under his sheath, and he’ll be very bruised because his body bent some of the dividers and he fell down from the impact,” Warwick explained.
Warwick, his family and Le Special have since safely returned home, with Warwick thanking the emergency services, veterinary staff and wider equestrian community for their support following the accident.
“He is back home now and he seems to be like nothing happened,” Warwick said of Le Special. “He is a very sharp horse and seems to have a good survival instinct. I think with a few easy days we can start training soon and hopefully be ready for Lier.”
The FEI Nations Cup competition at Lier is set to commence on 20 May, with the Australian team being one of nine countries to enter.
Equestrian Life wishes the McLeans and Le Special all the best in their recovery from this traumatic event.
