Equine Canada and the Canadian Eventing Committee extend deepest sympathies to Kyle Carter, Imogen De Lavis, and the entire Five Ring Stable team on the passing of Conahy’s Courage.
The 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, who was owned by De Lavis and ridden by Carter for the past four years, was euthanized on March 7, 2015 after a rotational fall during the cross country phase of the CIC3* division at the Red Hills International Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Fla.
During a press conference on March 7, Tom Barron, spokesman for Red Hills, released the following statement:
“It is with deepest regret that we announce that Conahy’s Courage, ridden by Kyle Carter and owned by Imogen De Lavis, suffered a catastrophic injury at fence 12a in the CIC3* division at Red Hills International Horse Trials. The horse was humanely euthanized, and a post-mortem examination will be conducted at the University of Florida Large Animal Hospital in Gainesville.”
Carter had been bringing Conahy’s Courage up through the levels over the past four years, and began competing at the CIC2* level in 2013, before moving up to CIC3* in 2014. His dream was to qualify and compete with the “small but mighty” horse at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“Courage fit the dream well; he had the most powerful jump, wonderful movement and was not put off by any jump,” said Carter. “A more applicable name than Courage could not have been found. I have ridden many horses, and he was in a league of his own when it came to boldness.”
In addition to his talent, Carter was in awe of the remarkable disposition of Conahy’s Courage.
“All the talent in the world couldn’t match his best quality, which was how kind and sweet he was,” said Carter. “He was a favourite in the barn and great with my kids – a joy to be around on the ground and a devil if you got on his bad side while riding him. I just wish we could have reached his potential, but more than that, I wish we had more time together.”
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