Pollard’s Dekorum euthanised during Georgia cross-country
US eventer Michael Pollard has lost his two-star horse Dekorum after the mare sustained an injury at the Southern Pines II Horse Trials in Hamilton, Georgia on Saturday.
Dekorum, a nine-year-old Thoroughbred-Warmblood cross mare (Catherston Dazzler x Bett’s Jet, by Valhalla Gained) owned by breeder Jane Rusconi of Jefferson, Oregon, fractured a hind leg before fence 8, having just cleared a bounce before.
It was her third advanced start.
Poplar Place’s emergency team responded quickly and attempted to stabilize the mare so she could be transported, but she was unable to walk onto the trailer. In consultation with the two veterinarians present and with Rusconi by phone, Pollard and his wife Nathalie made the decision to euthanize the mare.
“It’s something that you never think will happen to you, and I’m very fortunate that I haven’t had that many horses injured underneath me,” Pollard, 30, told The Chronicle of the Horse. “It’s just very sad. Ultimately, there’s not a whole lot that can be done when you see that kind of break. You just try to hold it together and stay calm.”
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