According to a statement released on the U.S. Eventing Association (USEA) Web site, preliminary necropsy findings on the horse Tigger Too, a 17-year-old gelding, show that he passed away from an acute abdominal aortic rupture. Final necropsy results are pending.

Tigger Too died while competing at this weekend’s Jersey Fresh CCI***. The horse was owned by David O’Connor and ridden by Lauren Kieffer. Kieffer was not injured in Tigger Too’s fall, which occurred on the cross-country course at fence 28.

Tigger Too at the Jersey Fresh event.

This latest death comes after two horses were euthanized after sustaining injuries during the cross-country portion of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event in late April. Another two horses died of cardiopulmonary-related problems at the Red Hills Horse Trials CIC***-W in Tallahassee, Fla., in March.

O’Connor is president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF). Following Rolex, he and USEA President Kevin Baumgardner released a letter concerning safety in eventing. Read it at Eventing Safety: Joint Letter from USEF and USEA Leaders.

The authors invited all members of the equestrian community to attend a USEF/USEA Safety Summit to be held in Lexington, Ky., June 7-8, and to e-mail suggestions to safetythoughts@usef.org and/or safety@useventing.com.