Royal Kaliber, a prominent U.S. showjumper, was euthanatized Oct. 8 in the Netherlands. The stallion underwent colic surgery for intestinal adhesions on Sept. 27 and had been recovering well until his progress considerably slowed. Royal Kaliber took Chris Kappler to a team silver and an individual bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

According to Tim Ober, DVM, a veterinarian for the U.S. Equestrian Federation team, “His discomfort began at noon yesterday (Oct. 7) and by this morning it was obvious we needed to go in surgically for another look. We found more adhesions in the intestine that were not repairable. We had no options since we would have had to leave him with a gastrointestinal tract that was insufficient; therefore, we had no choice but do the humane thing and euthanatize him.”

Kathy Kamine, who co-owned Royal Kaliber (“Roy”) with Chris and Jenny Kappler, said “Roy meant so much to us, not just as a great competitor, but as a part of our family and lives. We are devastated by his loss, but we know we have made the right decision for him. The prognosis was poor and we have complete faith in the veterinary team that tended to Roy. I believe we all did everything we could to save him.”

During the silver medal jump-off in Athens, Royal Kaliber suffered an acute strain of the superficial digital flexor tendon, but veterinarians say his colic problems were not related to the tendon injury