Horse died at a show today...

sirsloop

Penny and I were shooting the jumper arena. The rider went and did their ~10 jumps, no problem, came out and stood outside the start gate watching her friends. Like 5 minutes later I hear a thump and the horse and rider just fell out of no where. The rider was lucky and squirmed out without injury. The horse starting kicking on the ground all crazy like. Everyone thought the horse got bit/stung by a bomber and was trying to get it off. The horse popped up on its feet and went loose. The show manager had run down and she grabbed the horses bridal. At that time the horse started circling around her and began kicking all crazy like with its front legs... like it was in a marching band. It was apparent that it was no bomber... the horse was having a stroke/seizure. About 30 seconds later the horse fell again, kicked for another minute and was dead. They did CPR by JUMPING on the horse (thats when penny lost it). There was a vet at the show that came over with his truck. About five minutes into the ordeal they stopped CPR. It was f***ing horrible. It was an 11yr old horse and it was the girls first show with him. She was relatively calm until they stopped CPR and came over to her... you could just see that she broke. She was a mess, family was crying, all her friends were crying, other riders were crying, the judges were crying, penny was crying, I was crying, EVERYONE there was crying. At first I was really upset because I didn't think she rode stadium yet...I didn't have any photos. Afterwards we talked to the ring manager and found out that she had just rode. Before we left Penny met up with the mother and got her email address. I'll be setting up a gallery for them and emailing them all the photos. Its nuts cause I'm not the emotional type and I cant tell you the last time I cried... but this was like watching a little girls heart get broken right in front of you. So sad..... :nah



I guess if you shoot sports long enough you'll see some pretty serious injuries, or even death. I'm thinking back over the past couple years and just race car drivers that have died (Earnhardt, Medlen, Dana, Russell) ... scary cause I met Earnhardt and have photos of Medlen.

wxwax

I can't imagine seeing such a magnificent animal die. :cry

saurora

I can't imagine watching this young girl see her horse die like that, how horrible! Sad story, I'm glad you have a nice image for her. :cry

ian408

Oh my. I can't imagine that. I'm glad that you have some photos for her.

Ian

H2H

Sad

Earlier this year while covering a Sprint Car race in Cali the car I help sponsor had a mechanical problem and he went off the track straight into the wall at 95mph. I watched this through my view finder (70-200vr) it made me sick; luckily Steve walked away from that one

Tee Why

Yup,
A sad thing indeed. Hope the girl recovers.

Frog Lady

I hit the reply button and now I don't know what to say... I'm glad she had ridden already and that you have pictures of her and for her to keep the memory of her horse alive. That's really thoughtful of you to set up that gallery for her.

C.

Dee

So sad
I imagine it was also a very frightening thing to witness.

dbaker1221

oh man.....:cry

schmoo

I'm so sorry for the horse, the spectators, and particulary for the girl and her family.

That is as really nice thing you are doing for her, and I hope that your photos can make their day a bit brighter.

Skippy

sirsloop wrote:

Penny and I were shooting the jumper arena. The rider went and did their ~10 jumps, no problem, came out and stood outside the start gate watching her friends. Like 5 minutes later I hear a thump and the horse and rider just fell out of no where. The rider was lucky and squirmed out without injury. The horse starting kicking on the ground all crazy like. Everyone thought the horse got bit/stung by a bomber and was trying to get it off. The horse popped up on its feet and went loose. The show manager had run down and she grabbed the horses bridal. At that time the horse started circling around her and began kicking all crazy like with its front legs... like it was in a marching band. It was apparent that it was no bomber... the horse was having a stroke/seizure. About 30 seconds later the horse fell again, kicked for another minute and was dead. They did CPR by JUMPING on the horse (thats when penny lost it). There was a vet at the show that came over with his truck. About five minutes into the ordeal they stopped CPR. It was f***ing horrible. It was an 11yr old horse and it was the girls first show with him. She was relatively calm until they stopped CPR and came over to her... you could just see that she broke. She was a mess, family was crying, all her friends were crying, other riders were crying, the judges were crying, penny was crying, I was crying, EVERYONE there was crying. At first I was really upset because I didn't think she rode stadium yet...I didn't have any photos. Afterwards we talked to the ring manager and found out that she had just rode. Before we left Penny met up with the mother and got her email address. I'll be setting up a gallery for them and emailing them all the photos. Its nuts cause I'm not the emotional type and I cant tell you the last time I cried... but this was like watching a little girls heart get broken right in front of you. So sad..... :nah

I guess if you shoot sports long enough you'll see some pretty serious injuries, or even death. I'm thinking back over the past couple years and just race car drivers that have died (Earnhardt, Medlen, Dana, Russell) ... scary cause I met Earnhardt and have photos of Medlen.

Our pets hold treasured places in our hearts and lives,
and their loss leaves quite a hole when they move on to green pastures so to speak.

I know I cried for months when my cats died, vowed I would never get another pet because I couldn't handle the distress and grief of losing them brought. :cry

I'm glad you got some photos for this young girl, and your thoughtfulness will not be forgotten by her.

Thanks for sharing this sad story ........... Skippy
.

HoofClix

I saw this last night and just didn't know what to say at the time. May I first complement you that you did the right thing here by posting a nice photo of this girl rather than a photo of the incident in progress, or a crash or other such gruesome scene!


I hate to say it, but take pix at enough of these shows and you will eventually see almost everything you can imagine. I don't discount the special animal who lost it's life (not sure if that's a mare or what there) but when you see your first rider killed, you'll decide to stay or leave this venture. Let's just hope that you never get desensitized to it, that you always have the emotional reaction that you had here!:cry There is, afterall, plenty of joy to be seen as well....

Now you are the last link that little girl has with this horse, and you already are doing the right thing by her!

sirsloop

Thanks for the comments. I didn't even take photos of the incident to be honest. I thought about snapping a few shots just for the heck of it, but I'm no ambulance chaser and there was nothing to gain by doing so. If the horse dies, they get any photos I have for free. That's the least I can do. I suppose some people would try to turn a profit on the shots, but I'm here for pleasure, to see people smile and be happy with my photos, and yeah... I make a few bucks (err...buy more gear ) for my time. If anything I hope the girl can look at that shot I posted in a year and crack a smile... that'll do it for me.

HoofClix

sirsloop wrote:

If anything I hope the girl can look at that shot I posted in a year and crack a smile... that'll do it for me.

That's the point! She most certainly will!

cdonovan

very kind kind gesture, what a horrific thing to live through.

I had last min changed my mind about going to an event this weekend as I had another shoot to do, and didn't have the time to get to it. I found out last night that after a freak accident the event ended short and with one less animal going home, these folks were cattle penning. You just never know what is going to happen and when. Heart breaking and very horrific to witness.

:cry

future_perfect

HoofClix wrote:

I saw this last night and just didn't know what to say at the time. May I first complement you that you did the right thing here by posting a nice photo of this girl rather than a photo of the incident in progress, or a crash or other such gruesome scene!


I hate to say it, but take pix at enough of these shows and you will eventually see almost everything you can imagine. I don't discount the special animal who lost it's life (not sure if that's a mare or what there) but when you see your first rider killed, you'll decide to stay or leave this venture. Let's just hope that you never get desensitized to it, that you always have the emotional reaction that you had here!:cry There is, afterall, plenty of joy to be seen as well....

Now you are the last link that little girl has with this horse, and you already are doing the right thing by her!

That's so true.

I'm sure the family will be very thankful to have your photos. I can't even imagine how that girl must be feeling right now; just the thought of anything like that happening to my horse puts me on the verge of tears. At least she'll have some nice pictures to remember her partner and friend.

renay johnson

That's as bad as horseracing. We had 7 horses die during our horseracing season last year here in San Diego. That new turf has been laid now and although times are a bit slower, I haven't heard of any deaths yet at the track.