VIDEO: “I’m sick of it, horses still run the risk of dying there” – Michel Vandenbosch (GAIA) after fatal fall of horse at Waregem Koerse

The animal broke its right upper arm during the Baron Casier Prize, the second obstacle run. The fracture was so severe that the horse was euthanized. Tuesday/today the 175th edition of the horse racing event took place.

The French horse Hyperion De Kerser, five years old, fell somewhere between the Hedge Obstacle, the Breton Wall and the Living Hedge. How Hyperion sustained that rupture is not yet clear. Another horse also suffered minor injuries.

“175 years of Waregem Koerse has clearly not become a day to celebrate for the euthanized horse Hyperion, which suffered a serious fracture”, GAIA chairman Michel Vandenbosch reacts. As for the past thirty years, a team of GAIA observers closely monitored the course of the obstacle races.

“Bad bad luck”, said vet Frank Gasthuys afterwards. “This remains a great pity, but we didn’t want to let Hyperion suffer any longer and decided to put it to sleep. There were about a hundred horses at the start today. They – with the exception of Hyperion – all made it safely to the finish. incident was really bad luck.” Waregem Koerse expresses his condolences to jockey, trainer and owner of Hyperion De Kerser.

GAIA chairman and animal rights activist Michel Vandenbosch reacts sharply to the facts. Watch his response below.