Mary King's heartache as Olympic horse Call Again Cavalier is put down

Leading British three-day eventer Mary King's Olympic horse, Call Again Cavalier, has been put down following a fall at the inaugural Express Eventing International Cup in Cardiff.

The 16-year-old bay gelding, with whom King won a team bronze medal in Hong Kong less than four months ago and a 2007 European Championship individual silver, suffered a broken leg after falling during the Millennium Stadium cross-country phase.

The horse received immediate expert help, headed by event vet John Killingbeck.

King and Call Again Cavalier went into the jumping phase in second place following a superb dressage performance.

Yorkshireman Oliver Townend won the £100,000 first prize – eventing's biggest individual purse – with Lucy Weigersma second and William Fox-Pitt third.

Express Eventing organiser Stuart Buntine said: “This is extremely sad.

“Our thoughts are with Mary King and Call Again Cavalier's owners, Edwin and Sue Davies and Janette Chin.

“Our thanks go to the veterinary team, headed by John Killingbeck, for their efficient and expert handling of this incident.”

The 13,000 crowd watched in silence as Call Again Cavalier was loaded into the horse ambulance and taken away for further assessment and treatment.