# Rider killed in Ashville, NC



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I don't have a lot of info but while watching the news last night it was reported that a woman who had finished a Hunter's Pace was loading two horses in her trailer and was trampled to death on Sunday.

Anyone have any additional information?


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## LetAGrlShowU (Mar 25, 2009)

Wow, thats horrible.


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## LetAGrlShowU (Mar 25, 2009)

This is what I could find. It was a race that took place on the biltmore estate WLOS ABC 13 News :: Top Stories - Rider Killed On Biltmore Estate Identified


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Scary! Things can go wrong just so fast... My prayers to her family!


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

How scary... I had a friend get hurt in a trailer. He was loading his gelding and the rope got wrapped around his hand - it was a nylon rope, and the horse pulled back frantically and took the skin off of my friend's finger down to the bone.

I hope the day this woman had was a good one. At least she passed doing something she loved. =/


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Here's the link: Accident on Biltmore Estate in Asheville claims equestrian's life | The Asheville Citizen-Times | citizen-times.com

This is too sad. This type of thing can happen so fast, and in a trailer there's just nowhere to go if you get caught between the horse and the trailer wall. About 3 weeks ago I was loading my 32 year old QH into our slant load, because he was colicking and I was trying to see if a trailer ride would get things moving. I was leading him with my left hand, which was healing up from a broken arm and weaker than my right arm. He got his head turned toward the rear of the trailer and decided to leave NOW instead of backing out, and I wasn't strong enough to turn his head back to the front. He wedged me between his shoulder and the hinge of the divider and folded my shoulders toward the center of my chest. I honestly thought I was going to die there because we were stuck, and I didn't know the human body could bend that much without breaking. He finallly pushed through and I went to get x-rays. Nothing broken, but the rib cage cartilage was strained/torn. What a close call. DH says I'm never to load a horse in a trailer again by myself...yeah, right. 

Prayers to the lady's family; this has to be so hard on them, and for the friend who was with her at the time. A real tragedy.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

They euthanized the horse as well..


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

I was reading comments from readers of one of the news articles who couldn't believe that they euthanized the horse for spooking and 'accidentally' trampling her. (Neither could I believe it.) But in reading another article, it seems that the horse had a kicking problem already and had kicked her when she was in the trailer, and kept kicking her.


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## Calmwaters (Aug 24, 2011)

From what I understand this womans horses were her life and she would not have wanted the horse put down so I am not sure why they did.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

I think it was an impulsive decision made by loved ones who were wanting to make closure on the situation.

Then again if you consider the alternatives - the horse was owned by someone who is now deceased. Loved ones would now have either take in the horse themselves (unlikely... it's like keeping the gun someone used to murder a friend of yours) or sell it. How on earth do you expect to sell a horse that has a history of trampling someone to death?


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## LetAGrlShowU (Mar 25, 2009)

I agree Equilove. Also, its not noted if the horse was injured during the event. Very sad but my fiance tells me 'if your horse kills you, im getting my gun and shooting it"

Of course, its said with sarcasm but I cant imagine a family having to care for/sell the horse that killed their loved one.


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## Calmwaters (Aug 24, 2011)

Thats a good point, in the report it says the horse was kicking alot maybe it hurt itself as well.


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## catsandhorses (Aug 6, 2011)

Calmwaters said:


> From what I understand this womans horses were her life and she would not have wanted the horse put down so I am not sure why they did.


I would imagine because no one else would want the horse?


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## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

Agreed. A horse with a kicking problem would be difficult to sell. Imagine the grief it would cause the family if the horse had been sold instead of euthanized and wound up killing someone else?


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

LetAGrlShowU said:


> I agree Equilove. Also, its not noted if the horse was injured during the event. Very sad but my fiance tells me 'if your horse kills you, im getting my gun and shooting it"


:lol: This made me laugh :lol:


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

So if your 5-yr old picks up a gun and shoots your wife, you kill the kid? I know plenty of people who would take a horse that was in the wrong place at the wrong time like that. My guess is that the horse was euthed in response to public opinion.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

equiniphile said:


> So if your 5-yr old picks up a gun and shoots your wife, you kill the kid?.


That is an absolutely ridiculous analogy. How can you compare livestock to a child? The horse was dangerous and that was the best and safest course of action.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Maybe that was the wrong analogy.

Any horse can panic. If the horse was truly dangerous? Heck yeah, euth is the way to go. Being trampled in a freak accident...not so much. Maybe the horse was dangerous, maybe not. We have no way of knowing.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

The lady wasn't trampled, she was kicked to death according to one of the news articles. There's a difference, in my mind, between being knocked down by a horse fleeing/bolting and being trampled in the process, versus being kicked at repeatedly until you sustain fatal injuries. 

That having been said, I am sure that it was both an emotional response by the family members and in an abundance of caution, supported by law enforcement. Given that the horse had kicked her before, and this event was another kicking episode, to sell/give away this horse knowing its history, there would be clear liability if anyone ever got injured again. It would be just like a dog that bites being given 2 chances, right, and then it has to be put down.


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## nuisance (Sep 8, 2011)

Tragic loss. I wouldn't want them to put my horses down either if they "accidently" trampled me.. but if it's a habitual kicker... I really wouldn't want to, but think about it... if a dog attacks someone...what do they do? even if they are protecting their own, and/or never has hurt anyone before? 
Sad situation regardless.

(sorry for repeat of above, I didn't read all of them first).


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## wormy (Nov 1, 2009)

A horse with a history of kicking kills a family member. The horse dies, no questions asked.


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## moldy (Oct 28, 2010)

A horse with a history of kicking people dies. Period. Could someone explain why YOU would have a kicking horse around? Like a biting dog? A rapist? Just to wait and see who's next??​


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Being trampled by several horses that panic is not in the same category as a kicking horse. Being a long time rider she should have known better than to enter a trailer, a trap, in which there is another horse, even with one horse.


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## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

Wow, how tragic =(


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## Calmwaters (Aug 24, 2011)

I just think that none of us were there to see exactly what happened so we can not say if putting the horse down was the right thing or if it was a hurt family makeing a decision on the pain they are feeling. I am sorry for the family and for the horse its a painful and sad thing to happen.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

A friend of mine knew the owner's riding companions and from what they shared with her is that the horse was rather unpredictable to be around. They had all voiced their opinion that the owner should have done something about him a long time ago. He had hurt her several times before. The family thought it best that no one else needs to deal with his behavior in light of his history and the owner's death.


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