The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has announced that an endurance horse representing New Zealand at the 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG), currently underway in Mill Spring, North Carolina, has been euthanized due to kidney problems.

Jenny Champion rode Barack Obama, a 20-year-old Anglo-Arabian gelding, in Wednesday’s ultimately abandoned endurance championship. He was taken to the WEG Endurance Treatment Clinic after being transported back from the second loop of the 120-kilometer ride. He was treated for kidney problems onsite at the Tryon International Equestrian Center and subsequently transferred to the Tryon Equine Hospital for further treatment.

Barack Obama’s owner, Mark Round, in consultation with the athlete and veterinarians, elected to euthanize the horse on Friday. In accordance with FEI veterinary regulations, veterinarians will perform a post-mortem on the gelding