It sounds like your carabiner might have been upside-down. Usually the carabiner stays attached to the cowstail, and is then clipped into the ascender - not the other way around. I also have the gate on mine face away from me, so the rope doesn't interfere with it.
How was/is the carabiner tied to your cowstail? If you use a knot/hitch that binds tight on the carabiner, there's less chance of it coming off. If you're not already, try something like a barrel knot (half a double fisherman's tied back on itself) rather than a figure 8 or overhand on-the-bight.
I kinda thought that the biner might have been upside down too. I've been using the GGG adjustable tether and it fits very loose on the biner. You know...I haven't been using the tether for very many trips. Before, I was using something that fit much tighter onto the carabiner. The loose fit is probably the culprit and (luckily)just hadn't happened before now. (Better to happen during a practice session than in a cave too.)
I should probably set up my cowstails like yours NZ. The "short" side already is.
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