‘The heart of a lion’: horse put down after injury on Badminton cross-country
A horse has died after suffering an injury between fences on the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course.
Alexander Bragg’s ride Redpath Ransom sustained an “irreparable injury” to the suspensory ligament on his right foreleg.
“This occurred whilst the horse was galloping between fences 27 and 28 on the cross-country course,” said a statement from the horse trials.
“The injury was not the result of a jumping effort.
“The horse was immediately taken by ambulance to the veterinary clinic in the stables, where he was examined by an orthopaedic specialist.
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“Sadly, the horse has been euthanased and Badminton and the eventing family extend their sympathy to the owners, rider and all connections.”
The 13-year-old gelding had competed at numerous three- and four-stars with Alexander.
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Their best results together include clear cross-country jumping rounds at Luhmühlen CCI4* in 2017 and Burghley in 2016, eighth place at Ballindenisk CCI3* in 2016 and fourth at Strzegom Nations Cup.
Alex told H&H after the horse’s dressage test yesterday that Redpath Ransom joined him when he was considered unrideable as a youngster, but paid tribute to the fact he had become a great cross-country horse.
“He was on the road to nowhere and it was last chance saloon,” he said. “The owner said to have him for six weeks and see what we could do with him. He was a fierce, fiery horse, but we saw potential in his jump.
“He only started eventing as a six-year-old and had time off with silly injuries, but he has the heart of a lion across country.”
Read updates from Badminton on the Horse & Hound website tomorrow.
Our bumper 24-page Badminton report will be in our 10 May issue, including opinion from Oliver Townend, Mark Phillips and Peter Storr.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.