WEG off to a bumpy start

TheDigitalCourier.com - Full Article

By Mackenzie Wicker mwicker@thedigitalcourier.com
Sep 16, 2018

MILL SPRING – The World Equestrian Games at the Tryon International Equestrian Center got off to a bumpy start this week, hampered by weather, misdirection and controversy after the first event, the endurance race, was cancelled.

Endurance teams were upset by the cancellation. One horse on the field had to be put down.

A 20-year-old Anglo-Arab gelding named Barack Obama, ridden by New Zealand's Jenny Champion, was euthanized Friday, media spokesperson Gayle Telford confirmed in a press release. The horse had been competing in international Endurance events since 2009. Champion had been partnered with him from 2014 and together they had won six events.

He was treated onsite and then transferred to the Tryon Equine Hospital. After consulting with Champion and veterinarians, the horse's owner, Mark Round, elected to have the horse euthanized.

Endurance: 'Completely a mess'

Barack Obama was one of 53 horses sent to the Endurance Treatment Clinic during and after incomplete rides in the event, which would have covered 100 miles and lasted around 14 hours...

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