Two more of US eventer Michael Pollard’s horses die following crash
Two more of US eventer Michael Pollard’s horses – including one of his top rides Icarus (pictured) – have been put down following a road accident in Dalton, Georgia on Friday (25 May).
Michael’s trailer turned over trapping all six horses on board.
Michael’s new ride, the stallion VDL Ulando H died at the scene, of head and neck injuries.
His owner Ruth Armstrong was “devastated” by her loss. She said: “He was the love of my life, an athlete and a gentlemen.”
Then on Saturday Michael and his wife Nathalie’s 14-year-old four-star eventer Icarus was put down.
“Fly” had suffered severe ligament injuries and lacerations in the crash.
He was followed on Sunday by Michael and John Bryant’s three-star Irish sport horse Jude’s Law, who had a ruptured intestine.
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Michael paid tribute to Icarus, saying: “He was the best horse in the world who just never quite made it – mostly my fault, and certainly not his.
“He was a family member and it will not be the same without him in the barn.”
And of Jude, he added: “This is a nightmare that I can’t seem to wake up from. This horse was so special to me and looked like he was going to be fine in a couple of weeks.
“I am absolutely crushed.”
Three other horses were on the trailer at the time of the accident – Schoensgreen Hanni, Carl Bouckaert’s Raphael and a broodmare named Little Star.
All three are expected to make a full recovery.
Michael travelled over to Britain last year to compete at Burghley Horse Trials with Icarus, but suffered a nasty fall jumping into the water.
They competed at Kentucky last month, where they were 19th in 2011.
He and Hanni won team gold at the 2011 Pan American Games.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.