Star Horse Hickstead Collapses, Dies During Competition [VIDEO]

One of the equine world competition's top athletes, a Canadian stallion named Hickstead, collapsed and died in front of hundreds of spectators at the Rolex F.E.I. World Cup in Verona, Italy, on Sunday [video, which may prove disturbing to many, is embedded below].

Authorities plan a autopsy of Hickstead, to determine what killed the horse.

The Dutch Warmblood stallion had just completed the 13-track show jumping course in a nearly flawless round of show jumping at the sport’s highest level, the Grand Prix, before he crashed to the ground under his rider and died, flailing and undergoing what appeared to be a seizure, while in the ring. Spectators gasped in horror as the tableau played out in front of them in real-time.

Eric Lamaze is, or rather, was Hickstead’s longtime rider. The pair won individual gold and silver medals for the Canadian team together at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Lamaze appeared unharmed, but dazed, perhaps shocked, as he was led out of the ring.

At the request of riders, the remainder of the competition was halted. In a statement, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, the wife of the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the president of the sport's governing body, Federation Equestre Internationale, said "Hickstead really was a horse in a million and my heart goes out to Eric and everyone connected with this wonderful horse. This is a terrible loss, but Hickstead truly will never be forgotten. We were very lucky to have known him."

But Karyn Malinowski, the director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said that because of the way horses react to athletics, any weakness in the heart can be exposed. She added that the way in which Hickstead went down indicated he could have been experiencing a massive coronary.

Malinowski said, “The horse is a natural blood doper. When the horse does an athletic event, it will automatically dump tons of red blood cells into the bloodstream. It’s what makes the horse a fabulous athlete. And at the same time, because you have an increase, the blood does become thicker, and if the horse was prone to a weakened heart, it could have burst.”

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is scheduled in the next few days, but the exact day is unclear.

Once again, video of Hickstead is embedded below, but it may be disturbing.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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