Flashpoint. Photo courtesy of Brant Gamma Photography.
As Tori reported in News & Notes this morning, Flashpoint, a 20-year-old Thoroughbred gelding ridden by Susan MacRae, passed away Sunday morning at Fair Hill International Horse Trials after finishing a double-clear trip on the preliminary cross-country course. Susan’s husband, Duncan, posted the following information on Facebook last night:
“Tip had a great go at Fair Hill this weekend until the very last. He finished the prelim course with Susan clear and inside the time only to expire immediately after crossing the finish. His body has been taken to New Bolton Center for a necropsy. It was almost certainly some type of catastrophic cardiac event as he died very suddenly after running a textbook prefect trip around the course. Tip was my once in a lifetime horse and I will miss him terribly and forever. He died doing what he loved and doing it with style and grace. He was a gentleman and a competitor and my best friend until his last breath.”
EN extends our deepest condolences to Duncan and Susan on the loss of Tip. See The Chronicle of the Horse for more information on Tip’s death.
