A champion horseback rider from Long Island died at an upstate New York equestrian competition after her beloved animal fell on her.
Rebecca Weissbard, 22, was pronounced dead at the Horse Shows in the Sun in Saugerties, N.Y., Wednesday.
The amature rider had already won a jumping competition earlier in the day and was taking a second run through the hurdle course on her horse, Remember Me, when she was crushed, the Daily Freeman reported.
Weissbard’s horse didn’t clear the second hurdle on the path and fell to the ground when it hit one of the obstacle’s polls. The equestrian was tossed from Remember Me and then the animal fell on top of her, officials said.
Medics who responded to the scene were not able to revive the fallen rider.
“It is with great sadness that HITS informs the equestrian community of an accident involving a talented young athlete,” the competition said in a statement. “HITS extends its deepest sympathy to the athlete’s family and to the entire horse sport community who feels the impact of this significant loss.”
The Manorville-based rider won an individual gold medal at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish sporting event, in Israel even after she had a last-minute change of horses. The horse she had been training on is Israel on fell ill, and she was forced to compete with a second animal with which she had little practice.
“I got to ride him for maybe 20 minutes the day before competition, jumped four jumps, and the next day we went in the ring,” she told the Chronicle of the Horse after her win. “He and I clicked very fast. He was like one of my horses at home, so it was very easy for me to figure him out.”
At the same games, she helped the U.S. show jumping team win the silver medal.