I didn’t see any posts about this, forgive me if I’m duplicating.
Crackerjack was euthanized this morning after taking a bad step on XC, as reported by COTH:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/crackerjack-euthanized-at-pau-cci
Rest in peace, sweet boy.
Devastating. Rest in peace Crackers.
Horrible. My condolences to all of his family and connections.
Devastating to all, not helped at all by some of the comments on the article…people suck
How heart breaking. Sincere condolences to all of his connections, he was clearly dearly loved.
Oh my God. It’s horrible when any horse dies in such a way but I loved watching Boyd on this horse so much. They were such a pleasure to watch go 'round cross-country.
I can’t even imagine how Boyd feels. I know he has many lovely horses but he seemed to have a special bond with Crackerjack.
This is truly sad, and just goes to show how fragile horses are. He was galloping across open ground, just as if he had been galloping in his field at home, stepped on some bad ground, and shattered his pastern. Could happen to any of us, and, in fact, happened to me when I got out of bed with a leg that had gone to sleep and twisted my foot funny. Just broke a bone from stepping wrong.
The connection to Colin Davidson makes it even sadder because his mother won’t have Crackers around as a living memorial to her son.
This is very sad. Condolences to everyone, whose lives, this special horse touched.
What happens a lot is that the bone is cracked before the incident when it shatters. (I lost a stonking 3yo that way.)
Ugh, how heartbreaking and sad. Poor Boyd.
Well, not everyone agrees it was that simple - like something that could have “just happened” to anyone. Check FB for Tamarack Hill Farm.
I know it’s a long shot, but I wonder if the transition into arena footing contributed? (if that’s what this quote means):
“Just as we went into the arena he took a horrible step, almost on false ground,”
I hope someone looks into it from this angle. It would be nice if something positive came out of this and places like Tryon have to make real XC courses.
I see the post, but what about Boyd’s ride did that? The horse jumped the entire course clear and had a catastrophic injury galloping along right before the finish. Is the mere act of galloping and jumping dangerous to horses? This injury didn’t seem related to any unsafe fences or jumping efforts.
Galloping on varied terrain exponentially increases risk. That was an ugly course that rode badly. One of those things is fundamental to the sport and it is the one that was fatal today. The other one we can and should work to change.
I’m a fan of Denny’s wisdom, as I"m sure many are, but he is certainly making major assumptions without any facts with this one.
Horses took bad steps back in the good old days, too.
We have long known how fragile horses are. We don’t need any more tragedies to show us.
WTH don’t they do something about these XC courses?
We’re supposed to be horse lovers.
Can someone tell me what it was about this course that was the issue? Crackerjack was one fence from home on level ground when he suffered his injury. He appeared to be running strong and had been jumping well before that and didn’t suffer a fall at an unsafe fence or due to unsafe riding.
Terribly sad day for Boyd and his barn. RIP Crackerjack. This sport is heartbreaking at times, like now.
Godspeed Crackers. My condolences to all his connections. It sounds like he was very special to his owners.
I knew I shouldn’t have read any of the social media comments.
In this instance I found Denny’s response to be crass, cruel, and intentionally divisive. There is a place for thoughtful and tasteful reflection about the sport and specific incidents but that time is not now. My thoughts are with those who were closest to this horse and have been deeply impacted by his unexpected passing.
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