World Number 4 Boyd Martin has lost one of his top horses, Barney Rubble whilst exercising at home in Pennsylvania.
“He was jumping like a champ, and during a walk break between exercises he suddenly began to lose his balance and fell. Within seconds, he was gone. It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, standing there helpless as he passed” says Boyd on his social media.
The 11-year-old German-bred gelding, who started his career with Australia’s Chris Burton, has been with Boyd since mid-2022. Boyd had high hopes of competing him at 5* level in the near future although the path has not always been smooth; competing in the Advanced class at the Kentucky Classique in August, he told Samantha Clark that “He’s massively quirky, he's taken forever to produce. I love him but he's a very difficult horse”
“He’s highly strung and could jump the moon - but anything he does he just wants to go, go, go! I think he's going to be a great five star horse, but I've had to spend so much time at the Prelim and Intermediate level, and again here at the Advanced level before we even think about going five star. So, I hope all the years and years of patience pays off, he's a machine of an animal and the bigger the course, the easier he is to ride.”
Sadly, Boyd will not now get the chance to show the world how good Barney Rubble could be.
“To lose him to such a freak incident is absolutely heartbreaking. He is undergoing an autopsy at New Bolton Center, and while we suspect an aneurysm, we’ll know more in the coming days” says Boyd.
“I’ll miss this horse immensely. He was such a special guy. I’m deeply grateful to the Barney Rubble Syndicate, who believed in him as much as I did and gave him the time he needed to develop. Walking past his empty stall now, I keep wishing this was just a bad dream. Rest in peace, Barney”
