Pakistani eventing athlete Usman Khan has announced the sudden passing of the 13-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred Azad Kashmir (previously named Here to Stay) on Sept. 17th in Melbourne, AUS, of a “severe heart attack,” according to the family. “I have buried the horse with an Olympic flag. I am in a state of shock,” Usman told Pakistan’s The News.
The horse was the centre of some political controversy over its name earlier in the year, which means ‘Free Kashmir,’ a disputed territory of Kashmir that is in Pakistan’s control.
Usman will now have to attempt to qualify another horse for the Olympics. “We are devastated. We don’t have a back-up horse,” Usman said. “Someone has to fund. Only if someone sees the bigger picture. This has never been about [me], this is about Pakistan reaching the Olympics. I have lost a teammate.”