14 polo ponies dead

In front of a stunned, hushed crowd at International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday in Wellington, Fla., veterinarians tried feverishly to save expensive polo ponies from death before the featured game of the U.S. Open polo tournament.

Fourteen horses, worth as much as $1 million, on the Venezuelan-based Lechuza Caracas team died before their scheduled game against Black Watch.

Two other horses are being treated at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic. Another horse is being treated at the Lechuza complex close to the stadium.

When the horses started getting sick and collapsing about 45 minutes before game time, stadium officials announced the polo match was cancelled and an exhibition game would be played instead.

Early reports had four horses dying in the horse trailer used to transport the horses to the polo game. Another four died upon arriving at the stadium

According to several sources, the horses had a reaction to a steroid derivative that may have been tainted with a cleaning solution. The shots apparently were administered by an Argentine vet, not licensed in the United States

Witnesses said it seemed every vet in Wellington rushed to the grounds trying to save the other ailing polo ponies, who were breathing heavy and had trouble standing on the grassy field. When the horses started collapsing, veterinarians ran cold water on their bodies as they attempted to revive them. Fans that shoot a fine water mist were also used to get the horses’ body temperatures down.

The U.S. Open is the oldest and most prestigious polo tournament in the United States.

A investigation by the U.S. Polo Association, the sport’s governing body, was expected to get under way Sunday.

Necropsies will be conducted by state veterinarian Dr. Mike Scott on every horse to determine the cause of death. The horses were transported to a state-run clinic in Kissimmee, Fla. Preliminary findings are expected late tonight or Tuesday.