French event rider dies following fall last year
French event rider Guillaume Pucci has died after being in a medically-induced coma for seven months.
The eventer and riding instructor was injured when he fell at Le Pouget last November. He died on Sunday 14 June.
The 28-year-old suffered a cranial hematoma in the fall.
He was riding Schatzie Du Parc at the event in southern France. The horse — a nine-year-old selle Francais mare — was not hurt in the accident.
A spokesman from the French Equestrian Federation told H&H: “Guillaume Pucci was hurt at fence number eight of the cross-country test of the CIC2* organised at Le Pouget in the south of France on 16 November.
“Badly injured he was supported and operated in Montpellier’s hospital and then moved to Bordeaux’s hospital.
“He was in coma since then, but died on Sunday 14 June.”
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As well as a rider Guillaume also taught at his family’s equestrian centre and was a well-respected trainer.
Guillaume competed at Boekelo last year with Enzo Van’t Vennehof. The pair finished 60th and it was the rider’s first CCI3*.
He also competed at Blair Castle in the CIC3* with Qualisco D’Harreville.
Guillaume died on the anniversary of the deaths of riders Benjamin Winter and Jordan McDonald, who were both killed in falls on 14 June 2014.
His is the third death in Europe in eventing this year.
In February Portuguese eventer Francisco Seabra died while competing at the Alegra Rancho Eventing Tour de Utrera in Sevilla, Spain (14 February).
Francisco, 30, was riding 12-year-old Aferzysta in the CIC2* when they fell at the third element of a water obstacle at fence 10C. The rider was attended by a doctor and team of paramedics at the scene. Aferzysta was not injured.
In April 25-year-old Italian rider Sabrina Manganaro suffered a fatal accident while competing at a national event.
Her horse Fante di Mezzograno fell at fence 13 “causing immediate death”. The horse was uninjured.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.