Two Horses Euthanized at Winter Equestrian Festival

A pair of horses have had to be euthanized after suffering injuries in separate incidents in the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center arena at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, during Week 11.

On March 26th, Belgian show jumper Nicola Philippaerts’ top horse, H&M Chilli Willi, was euthanized after breaking his left foreleg while competing in the $37,000 FEI CSI5* Bainbridge 1.45m.

According to a statement on the Philippaerts family website, the 13-year-old Holsteiner stallion (Casall ASK—Caletta VIII, Lord) sustained the “very complicated fracture” when he stumbled after the last jump. Nicola and his father Ludo Philippaerts made the difficult decision to put the horse down.

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H&M Chilli Willi and Nicola had been competing together since 2015, winning the 2018 Longines Global Champions Tour of Chantilly CSI5* (France) and representing Belgium at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC. The horse was campaigning in Florida in preparation for the Oympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

On Sunday, March 28, there was an incident in the High Junior Jumper Classic which resulted in another equine fatality. Lord Pizarro, an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding piloted by US rider Ansgar Holtgers Jr. and owned by Gut Einhaus LLC and Dietmar Gugler, fell while attempting a jump. The equine ambulance, veterinarians from the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, and EMTs were on the scene immediately. The horse’s injury was assessed on-site and determined to be irreparable; the horse was promptly euthanized to avoid any further pain and distress for the animal. Holtgers Jr. was examined by medics and was not injured.

~ with files from Equestrian Sport Productions