* Updated on October 3, 2018 at 2:00 PM Eastern
Allentown, NJ - The organizing committee of the ESDCTA New Jersey Horse Trials at the Horse Park are sorry to report that Shannondale Julius, a 5-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Ryan Wood and Amy Peloquin and ridden by Ryan Wood in the Open Training A division experienced a fall during cross-country warm up and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Ryan Wood was uninjured in the fall.
A necropsy of Shannondale Julius was performed at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Penn. on October 1, 2018. The necropsy confirmed onsite veterinary observation that Shannondale Julius died nearly instantaneously as a result of injuries sustained from the fall.
The USEA extends our condolences to all of Shannondale Julius's connections.
Even though this is his fifth time winning the CCI5*-L in Kentucky and the 12th five-star win of his career, Michael Jung still thinks luck plays a factor in every competition.
Phillip Dutton couldn’t refrain from laughing as William Coleman described the start of his partnership with the now 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Off The Record (VDL Arkansas x Drumagoland Bay).
It was a somewhat uneventful morning in the final horse inspection for both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L, which is always a great testament to the exemplary horse care that these top athletes receive and the horsemanship exhibited by their riders.
And just like that, it's the final day of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and it's a full one in terms of the schedule. Before moving on to the final phase, competitors in both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions will have to undergo the final horse inspection at High Hope Lane which will kick off with four-star competitors at 8 a.m. EST and be followed immediately by the five-star contingency.