The horse collapsed during a polo game hosted by Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
A swanky fundraiser to raise money for children’s healthcare was disrupted by a tragic incident on Saturday.
At Cardinal Glennon’s 10th annual Glennon Gallop, a fundraiser for SSM Health’s Danis Pediatric Center in St. Louis, a horse dropped dead in the middle of a polo game.
One attendee recalled the event in a tip to the RFT. He and some friends watched the event unfold from the sidelines. Polo players rushed for the ball on their horses when one of the horses “suddenly fell over.”
The rider then climbed out from under and ran around the horse, according to our tipster. The horses legs kicked and twitched before movement ceased. “The rumor was that, it was an old horse,” according to our tipster.
“Several people on golf carts responded to the horse and a trailer came,” he adds. “After a few minutes, the announcer said the match was over.”
A spokesperson for the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation confirmed that a horse indeed died at the Glennon Gallop.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any other details on the situation because the horses and riders are not provided by us or coordinated through us,” Todd Wise wrote in an email to the RFT.
The Glennon Gallup is an annual event hosted at the August Busch Polo Club featuring divot stomping, champagne, fine dining and a polo match to benefit the healthcare of underprivileged kids. More than 85 percent of the families who seek healthcare at Danis Pediatrics live in poverty, according to Cardinal Glennon’s website.
“It was a beautiful day and a wonderful cause,” one attendee told the RFT. “Really a bummer to see that happen.”