During the Fontainebleau CEI* 90-kilometer race, held Oct. 15 in France, two horses sustained injuries that necessitated euthanasia. The first, Ariane d’Oudairies, was competing with France’s Andre Coriou. This was the 6-year-old mare’s (Sleeping Car—Java d’Ourdairies, Cyborg) first Fédération Equestre Internationale start.
The second horse, Castlebar Contraband, was competing with the United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qasimi. The 10-year-old part-Arabian (Castlebar Gulfstream—China Doll) previously completed 100-mile races, and he had nine different riders over his past four years of FEI starts.
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The competition released a brief statement about the deaths of the two horses, but it did not provide any further details about where or how the injuries occurred. Both horses completed the first two loops.
