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.
Barr was riding his horse Pacco, an 8-year-old Belgian Warmblood, in a training jumper class, when the horse had an awkward jump that unseated Barr, resulting in a fall several strides later, according to a statement issued Sunday by Saratoga Horse Shows. The ambulance was onsite within minutes, and Barr was transported to Albany Medical Center, where he died.
The horse was uninjured in the accident.
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“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.”
“The Saratoga Horse Shows team wishes to extend our sincere, heartfelt, and deepest condolences and sympathy to Mr. Barr’s family and friends,” the statement said. “Wayne was a wonderful, well-respected exhibitor, and we too are heartbroken.”
Barr was the CEO of Innovate Corp. and has two sons, Thomas and Spencer.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the day that Saratoga Horse Shows issued a statement about Barr’s death. It was released the day after his accident.
