Amateur rider Wayne Barr, 59, Wellington, Florida, suffered a fatal accident Saturday, July 22, while competing at the Saratoga Summer Celebration in Stillwater, New York.
According to a statement released by Saratoga Horse Shows on Sunday, Barr was participating in a training jumper class while riding his 8-year-old Belgian Warmblood named Pacco. During the event, Pacco had an awkward jump that caused Barr to be unseated from the horse. Unfortunately, he fell several strides later, and despite an ambulance arriving promptly on-site, Barr was taken to Albany Medical Center, where he tragically passed away.
The horse, Pacco, did not sustain any injuries in the incident.
“There are no words to adequately express how we feel,” Barr’s trainer Marcia Kulak said in the statement put out by the horse show. “We can take some solace in knowing that Wayne loved his family and his equestrian endeavors with his horses. He was truly a special gentleman, and his passing has left an enormous hole in our hearts.”
source: Chronicle of the horse