From the website for the Iroquois Steeplechase in Tennessee: “Race day is filled with glamour, fun and suspense and you won’t want to miss a minute of it. The Iroquois Steeplechase is the premier spring event in Nashville and is packed with entertaining and exciting activities for all ages.” There’s the hat contest, shopping – at the “shoppes” – plenty of gastronomic options, private and party tents, and, of course, tailgating! For the children – who, by the way, if 12 or under get in free! – there are myriad games and activities, including the “Michael Stanley Stick Horse Race.”
With that as backdrop, consider this from the Stewards’ Report on the 80th edition of the steeplechase, June 26: “REPEAT REPEAT fell at the 13th fence and was euthanized after sustaining a fractured left front leg.” Dead, where he lay. As if not enough, five races later, Footpad “fell and was vanned off.” In other words, there’s a very good possibility that two horses died in front of all those revelers – children included. To which I say to all the adults involved, for shame. For shame.
I have a feeling that this is not the only event where children have witnessed the catastrophic breakdowns, injuries and killings of horses used and abused, brutalized for “entertainment” for the adult Animal ABUSERS.
The adults should be riding the stick horses and jumping over jumps.
The people that market the ABUSE and subsequent killing of racehorses as “glamour” should have to be held accountable to a higher standard of human decency.
So disgusting, leaving the dead horses on the race track in front of spectators which included children! They could have at least shown respect for the fallen horses!
How can these demented, DEGENERATE people show respect for the dead when they don’t/can’t/won’t show any respect for the living?
I can’t say this enough : “Give me a moment to hurl” — If I’m not hurling, I’m crying — this is so tragically SAD — so so SAD — when will this EVIL industry SHUT DOWN — when will the HORSES be saved and spared — when will the immoral, unconscionable, cruel BREEDING stop!
Obviously the cruel practice of “horse racing” has no respect for horses. Is it making children callous to the pain and murder of horses they love? I can’t believe that there are some children among the witnesses of such cruelty who truly love and respect horses aren’t horrified. What are these parents thinking of???
Hopefully, the parents that are not “friends” of the horse owners are horrified as well. It is possible that some of those parents were clueless of the horrors of using live horses (until they’re dead) for this hideous pastime. However, the deliberate promotion of steeplechase racing as a “family fun day” is diabolical. There is NO EXCUSE for this morally depraved EXPLOITATION of horses. There are NO EXCUSES for this heinous cruelty to the horses.
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
If the promoters think the exploitation and death of sentient beings makes for wonderful family fun, think of the activities they could have planned around all the horses mutilated during the Civil War and WWI. I mean, fancy hats were all the rage back then, too.