In the 4th heat of this evening’s GMC Rangeland Derby, a serious mishap occurred involving the outfit of Chad Harden. It took place on the backstretch, when one of Harden’s lead horses went down, causing an accident involving all four wagon horses and one outrider horse. We are saddened to report that three horses have died.
The horses ran well through first two turns but the left leader faltered in the backstretch bringing the right leader and the rest of the team down. One of Harden’s outrider horses subsequently collided with the wagon and sustained serious injuries. The left lead horse, which was the horse that collapsed, experienced a fatal event, the nature of which is undetermined at this time. A post-mortem will be performed on this horse. The right lead horse and the outrider horse were humanely euthanized due to the severity of their injuries.
The horse on the right wheel sustained non-life threatening injuries and is receiving veterinary attention. The injuries will require surgery but the horse will survive. The left wheeler and the other outrider horse were not injured.
All horses had been pre-event inspected and pre-race inspected as part of The Calgary Stampede’s Fitness to Compete Program.