CFD officials should review horse's death
Originally published in the Wyoming Tribune on July 27, 2011.
For the casual rodeo fan sitting in the Frontier Park Arena, the collapse and later death of the saddle bronc Check Mate on Sunday brought back memories from two years ago when another horse, Strawberry Fudge, died in a similar way.
Nothing could be worse for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo than to have two horses lose their lives in three years in horrible fashion, shaking on the floor of the arena.
Yes, it is true that such deaths are rare, given the large number of horses that are ridden during a single CFD Rodeo, much less over three years. But none of that takes away from the stomach-churning reaction or the impact that this death will have on those casual fans, many of whom will not be back to the rodeo for a long time, if ever.
