Riders are dropping like flies this year at Wellington, the equestrian mecca near Palm Beach, Fla.
The latest casualty is Patty Raynes, daughter of Marvin Davis, the wildcatter who once owned 20th Century Fox, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Pebble Beach.
Patty was thrown during a jumping competition and broke her collarbone.
“It was completely my fault. I misjudged the distance,” she told me. “I had to fly to New York and have a metal plate put in. I can’t ride for 10 weeks.”
Also on the injured list is Silva Martin, the German-born showjumper who was knocked unconscious and had a seizure on March 5 when her horse fell on her. Martin is already back in the saddle — at least for a photo — and expected to make a full recovery.
The carnage at Wellington began on Jan. 31 when Anne Heyman, 52, a former Manhattan assistant DA and mother of three, died after being thrown in a jumping competition.
But the spate of casualties hasn’t stopped Jessica Springsteen, whose father Bruce bought her the Olympic gold medal horse she rode last Thursday, the same day Georgina (daughter of Michael) Bloomberg returned to the ring after having a baby.
Also undeterred: Athina Onassis, who is here with her husband Álvaro de Miranda Neto and riding in the Grand Prix.