Skijoring Accident Leads to Horse Death

With all sports comes injury. We see it time and again with players from our favorite teams. I saw it often as a ballet dancer. No sport goes unscathed, no matter how much we wish it did… especially when it comes to horses.

Last Saturday, Leadville, Colo. hosted its annual skijoring event. This winter sport combines skiing with equestrian and while fun to watch, can also be a little scary. Spectators at the event unfortunately witnessed the scary side when a horse crashed and broke its leg. The skier and rider did not suffer any injuries. However, the horse had to be euthanized due to its broken leg. The race was halted when the horse went down and did not resume until the following day, CBS Denver reports. Before resuming the event, race officials checked the softness of the snow.

“Yesterday it got a little soft at the end and I closed the race after that horse fell. I’m not blaming it on the track; I’m not blaming it on the horse. I think there are a couple multipliers in here that we can look at,” Skijoring America board member Tim McCarthy told CBS Denver. “It’s a tragedy, but it’s part of going down the race course. We’ve never had this happen up here.”

There were reportedly no major issues at Sunday’s event.