Leg fracture claims life of eventer Easy Tiger IV
An injury sustained at the Houghton Hall Horse Trials last month has claimed the life of advanced eventing horse Easy Tiger IV.
Easy Tiger IV, ridden by Pixie Thomas, retired on the CCI2* cross-country course at Houghton on May 30, and was euthanised on June 13, Britain’s Horse & Hound magazine reported.
Thomas said Easy Tiger had a great round at Houghton, but went lame on landing after the third fence from the finish. He was taken to a veterinary clinic in Newmarket where it was revealed he had fractured a leg. Efforts were made to save him, but it worsened and he was euthanised two weeks later, H&H reported.
The rising 15-year-old New Zealand-bred thoroughbred gelding was unsuccessful as a racehorse, but had a long eventing career. Registered in New Zealand as Rifleman, the son of Prized (by Kris S) and Voli Returned (by Pompeii Court) was trained by Donna and Dean Logan at Ruakaka and trialed twice unsuccessfully at Avondale before getting the sack from racing.
Ridden in New Zealand by Kate Wood, Easy Tiger competed in dressage up to open medium, and up to three-star level in eventing. He racked up second places at both Kihikihi (2*, 2011) and Puhinui (3*, 2009). His last start in New Zealand was at Kihikihi in 2012, before Wood campaigned him in Britain for the remainder of 2012.
He was ridden in four events by Zara Phillips in early 2013, before New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone took over the ride. Juliet Wood had five British Eventing starts on him, before he was bought by Pixie Thomas in the middle of last year.
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