Prince Harry falls head-first from his horse during charity polo match, and hurls his mallet in disgust

Harry is furious after his fall He hurls his mallet in disgust... then stomps off the field.Horseman: Harry managed to avoid serious injury by rolling as he hit the ground, but appears to be nursing his shoulder

Crash landing: The Prince takes a breather after falling off his horse on to the hard ground

The Prince was raising money for his Sentebale charity which helps Aids orphans in Lesotho

Royal tumble: Prince Harry is thrown from his horse during a charity polo match in Barbados

Thrown: Harry comes off the horse as it stumbles to the floor and rolls as he makes contact with the ground

Heir-raising: Fortunately it is only Harry's pride that is damaged and his team go on to win the match

Going to ground: Harry's horse loses its footing during a sharp turn as he swings his mallet at the ball

This is the moment Prince Harry took a heart-stopping, head-first tumble from his polo pony during a charity match in the Caribbean yesterday.

The third in line to the throne was thrown from his mount as he attempted a sharp turn close to the goal mouth, causing the animal to lose its footing and slide across the ground in a cloud of dust and grass.

Fortunately the 25-year-old prince managed to dive forwards and execute an athletic roll, breaking the impact of his fall on the rock-hard field in Barbados.


Seconds later he picked himself up unharmed but was clearly upset at the blunder as he threw his mallet to the ground in disgust, ripped off his helmet and punched it. The pony was unhurt.

Harry's team went on to win the inaugural Sentebale Polo Cup, with the prince scoring one of their six goals.
But the moment evoked memories of the incident in which his father, Prince Charles, was knocked unconscious while playing the game and swallowed his tongue.

He was taken to hospital suffering concussion after the 2001 accident.

Speaking about the fall afterwards, Harry said: 'I'm a bit sore but it was all for a good cause so it was worthwhile in the end.

'Basically the horse slipped from underneath me, which does happen occasionally and is a but unfortunate.
'It probably looks very dramatic because I was trying to throw myself clear of the horse. I'm a bit sore but the horse is ok though.'

The Prince explained that he hadn't thrown down his mallet in anger at getting thrown but was furious that he may have lost Sentebale a sizeable donation.

He explained: 'The reason why I was throwing my mallet down was because I met this nice businessman at dinner last night who offered me $50,000 for Sentebale if I fell off my horse today.

'His wife turned round and said 'that's a bit harsh, you should give him $100,000 if he stays on.' And he agreed to seal the deal on that.

'So when I fell off, I threw down my mallet and shouted: "What a waste of $100,000!" I was furious with myself.

'Fortunately this extremely generous gentleman has already been in touch and told us that it was the clear that the horse fell over, rather than I fell off it, so he was happy to honour the $100,000. What a star!

'It's been an exhausting trip - I feel like I have been here a month not two days - but absolutely rewarding.
'Everyone from our local supporters to the Barbados government have bent over backwards to make this work for Sentebale. People have dug so deep in their pockets.

'It looks like we may have raised £500,000 for the vulnerable children of Lesotho, so I couldn't be more pleased.

'We are going to try to take the Sentebale Cup around the world but will definitely be coming back to Barbados as we have started it here and the island has such a special place in our hearts.'

Harry was playing at the exclusive Apes Hill Polo Club in Barbados to raise money for Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in memory of his late mother to help vulnerable Aids orphans in the African kingdom of Lesotho.

The 1,200 ticket match was a complete sell out and is expected to raise more than £100,000. Harry hopes to make the Sentebale Polo Cup an annual event.

Lesotho is one of the world's poorest nations and has been devastated by an HIV pandemic.

One third of its 1.8 million population is infected with HIV or Aids and 40 per cent of children are orphans as a result. Average life expectancy is just 40 years.

Harry visited the country during his gap year and was immensely moved by its plight.

In a speech to mark the occasion yesterday he told supporters: 'It seems to be one of life's cruellest ironies that when natural disaster strikes - whether it be earthquake in Haiti or years of drought and ravaging by HIV AIDS in Lesotho, it is always the most vulnerable, the most defenceless, the children, who are left exposed and needing the most help.

'We are making a real difference in Lesotho but it is not straight-forward.

'The problems are complex and our work, inevitably, is not without its issues. But we are there for the long term.'

During his visit to the island, Harry also did his bit to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, by strutting his stuff at a Calyso concert after challenging donors to raise thousands to get him on his feet.

The royal joined revellers at a massive open air charity concert being broadcast live across the Caribbean on Saturday night when he made the impromptu offer to dance on stage in front of millions of viewers if they donated 5,000 Barbados dollars (£1,560) in the next 25 minutes.

The dare was announced by a compere to the cheering audience in the grounds of Farley Hill national park and a telephone number flashed on screen for viewers at home.

With moments to spare, the money came through and Harry, who was wearing a Haiti We Care t-shirt, blushed and groaned as he walked towards the floodlight stage.

'I can't believe I have let myself in for this. I think I'll just crowd dive instead,' he joked (after taking a quick sip of rum for Dutch courage).

He proved true to his word, however, and to loud whoops from the crowd, he walked through the throng and took his place centre stage.

Thankfully, he did not disgrace himself.

In fact the third in line to the throne displayed a surprising amount of rhythm as he jived to a pulsating calypso beat provided by singer Red Plastic Bag, real name Stedson Wiltshire, winner of last year's Barbados Calypso King title.

Afterwards the prince, who also made an undisclosed personal donation to the Haiti relief effort, quipped: 'There goes my credibility.'

Harry had hoped to visit to the disaster zone at the end of his Barbados visit but the trip has been postponed until later in the year.

It has been a packed weekend for the prince, who has conducted a series of engagements on only his second official foreign visit, including visiting a local children's hospital and attending a garden party for youngsters.

Last night he flew back to England to continue with his training as an Army Air Corps helicopter pilot.

He was told last week that he has passed the latest stage of his gruelling year-long course and hopes to progress to the Lynx aircraft later this year, possibly returning to Afghanistan in two years time.

Before he did, however, he couldn't resist a revenge dig at his elder brother, Prince William, who last week jokingly referred to Harry as 'the other ginger one' in a speech during his own tour of Australia.

Chatting to George Browne, 83, a former corporal in the Southern Caribbean Regiment who recalled meeting one of the brothers in 1995, Harry quipped: 'If it was William, he was already bald aged 12.

Rider charges through flames in 500-year-old Spanish festival

Leaping through the raging flames, these dramatic pictures show a rider taking part in a spectacular tradition.

As dusk falls, the streets are illuminated and filled with smoke as scores of fires are lit and the villagers of San Bartolome de Pinares in Spain prepare to celebrate the feast of St Anthony.

Every year, in a tradition dating back 500 years, the 700 male and female inhabitants collect piles of branches and gather to honour their patron saint of animals.
The creatures are blessed by a priest with holy water, before the brave horsemen lead their equally courageous mounts around the village, leaping through bonfires as sparks fly in all directions.

The tradition, dating back to the 16th century, is said to purify and protect the animals of the remote village, 60 miles west of Madrid.

As the riders jump across the flames, musicians fill the air with the sound of drums and Spanish bagpipes. The riding stops at 11.30pm, but the festivities continue until dawn, when the bonfires are converted into huge barbecues to cook a traditional feast of chorizo sausages and black pudding.

Egyptian-born St Anthony Abad has been acknowledged since the Middle Ages as the patron saint of domesticated animals.

The festival starts on the eve of his saint's day, which falls on January 17, and the villagers believe their mules, donkeys and horses are protected by St Anthony throughout the year because of the festival.

Recently, the fiesta has been criticised by animal rights activists who claim it is cruel, but organisers insist the horses come to no harm.

 
 The festival starts on the eve of his saint's day, which falls on January 17, and the villagers believe their mules, donkeys and horses are protected by St Anthony throughout the year because of the festival

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Charging through the flames a rider takes part in the annual Saint Anthony purification ceremony in the Spanish village of San Bartolome de Pinares

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 Thirsty work: A man drinks wine during the purification ceremony

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Watched by onlookers another horseman charges through a bonfire

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Protests over horse 'cruelty' as equestrian fans threaten to boycott 2012 Olympics .Physical torture to subdue horse for balancing.

Tens of thousands of equestrian fans have signed a petition over allegedly 'cruel' training methods that threatens to disrupt the sport ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Some fans are warning they will boycott the Games's equestrian event - due to be held in South London - over what has been labelled 'the blue-tongue scandal'.

The British Horse Society has called for an urgent inquiry into the practices being used on some of the world's most expensive competition horses.
The controversy started when a video posted on YouTube showed a dressage horse being ridden using the 'rollkur' technique - also known as hyperflexion, the practice involves drawing a horse's neck round in a deep curve so its nose almost touches its chest.

Swedish jockey Patrik Kittel - who has since received death threats - can be seen warming up his horse, Watermill Scandic, at October's World Cup dressage qualifiers at Odense in Denmark using the position. The animal's tongue appears to loll out and turn blue.

The footage has angered tens of thousands of fans, who have signed online petitions and written to the sport's governing body Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), based in Switzerland.

Some are even threatening to boycott the 2012 Olympic equestrian event, which is expected to attract 23,000 spectators.

Lady Sylvia Loch, dressage trainer and author, told the Observer: 'It is a shocking symptom of where the sport is going, it's the tip of the iceberg. What is going on behind closed doors in the training of these horses is very wrong.

'Dressage should be about lightness, freedom of movement and a partnership between horse and rider.
'Rollkur is so, so cruel. The horse can only see its own feet, so it is reliant on the rider for balance which is simply psychological torture.

'Dressage should be a delightful ballet where the work looks effortless. It doesn't need vile and unnatural methods. Horses shouldn't be brainwashed like this.'

Patrick Print, chairman of the British Horse Society, has written a letter to the FEI, asking it to investigate.

He wrote: 'In our view, the concerns so widely expressed are reasonable and therefore deserving of an urgent two-part investigation.

'First, an inquiry into the treatment of this particular horse on this particular occasion; and, second, a broader inquiry into the ethics and consequences of hyperflexion.

'Please note that we pass no comment on the aesthetics of seeing a competition horse contorted in a way it never appears to choose for itself. Our concern is only to speak out when we believe that the welfare of horses demands it.'

But supporters of rollkur say it is a 'valuable training method' to improve the suppleness of a horse.

Roly Owers, of the World Horse Welfare charity, said: 'In the right hands it is a valuable training method, and it cannot make a horse's tongue go blue, no matter what people seem to think.

'Current rules do not allow prolonged or extensive use of rollkur. However, the incident has brought into focus that issues need to be ironed out.

'I wouldn't like a ban, as the method will simply be used albeit not in public. It will go underground.

'I don't think that people inside the sport realise the strength of feeling that is out there. There has been quite a phenomenal reaction to this, and clearly we want to see the Olympics bring more people into equestrian sports, not drive them away.'

A spokeswoman for the FEI said: 'FEI's main concern has always been, and will always be, the welfare of the horse.

'We are taking the issues raised in the video and in the comments made by members of the public very seriously and have opened a full investigation.'

But Kittel, the jockey at the centre of the controversy, claimed he 'did not ride Scandic in this depicted frame for the entire duration of the training as implied'.

He told Horse and Hound magazine: 'Scandic was a little hot at Odense, so I rode him for longer than usual. Throughout every training session, including this one, I give my horses walk breaks...

'Scandic sometimes plays with his tongue. During the filmed period of my training, he caught his tongue over or between the bits. I stopped when I noticed and put it back in the right place.'




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Swedish jockey Patrik Kittel has received death threats

Controversial: The rollkur technique involves drawing a horse's neck round in a deep curve so its nose almost touches its chest

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Unreleased Michael Jackson- Hear it now. - "A place with no name"

Sony Music boss Tommy Mottola says that there are unreleased Michael Jackson songs that go back decades, and the first of them managed to sneak out onto the Internet. found and posted a snippet of a song called "A Place With No Name," which borrows heavily from America's 1971 hit "A Horse With No Name." shared a manger with the band in the late '80s and early '90s, though it's unclear when the song (which sounds like a fairly rough demo) was actually recorded.

In the weeks after Michael Jackson's death, his No. 1 hits have been blasted in car stereos, retail stores and public memorials. And industry experts say Jackson may continue to burn up the charts with a reported a stash of unreleased music that could earn his estate millions.

"What we have seen happen in the last three weeks is that the albums that are out here right now are selling in amazing numbers," Jim Henke, curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, told "Good Morning America." "I think we are going to see amazing interest in any released Michael Jackson material that will come out in the future or a year from now on."

Jackson died June 25 of apparent cardiac arrest at his rented Los Angeles home. Since his death, his albums and singles have rocketed to the top of the charts once again.

He wouldn't be the first chart-topping entertainer to release . John Lennon did it with "Woman," released a month after he was murdered in 1980. Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" became a hit just weeks after his death in 1967.

And a string of Tupac albums have been released since the rapper was gunned down more than a decade ago.

unearthed a portion of a unreleased Jackson track called "A Place With No Name," possibly his take on the song "A Horse with No Name" by America.

There are reportedly many more songs Jackson recorded, now sitting in a vault, that could eventually be release .

The songis remarkably similar to the 1972 America hit "A Horse With No Name." According to TMZ, the band gave their blessing to Jackson's revamp. There is no information at present about when the song was recorded.
America's manager, Jim Morey, managed Jackson in the late '80s and early '90s, and said that Jackson was granted permission to record the song.

"The band was honored that Michael chose to do their song and they hope it becomes available for all Michael's fans to hear," Morey told TMZ.

Click here to hear Michael Jackson's version - PLAY - "A Place with no name"



A Horse With No Name - Below is the original version.

Michael Jackson: Hear a previously unreleased track!

TMZ has posted a previously unreleased Michael Jackson track called "A Place With No Name." The song is remarkably similar to the 1972 America hit "A Horse With No Name." According to TMZ, the band gave their blessing to Jackson's revamp. There is no information at present about when the song was recorded.

Click here to hear Michael Jackson's version - PLAY - "A horse with no name"

Do you like the track? When do you think Jackson recorded it? And how does it compare to "A Horse With No Name", which you can hear below?



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