Amateur rider Rebecca “Becca” Weissbard, 22, suffered a fatal injury while competing at the HITS-on-the-Hudson VIII in Saugerties, N.Y., on Aug. 31.
HITS released a statement: “It is with great sadness that HITS informs the equestrian community of an accident involving a talented young athlete at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York, on August 31, 2016. The athlete suffered a fatal fall during a 1.0m Jumper Class in Jumper Ring 1. HITS extends its deepest sympathy to the athlete’s family and to the entire horse sport community who feels the impact of this significant loss.”
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Weissbard had won a 1.0-meter class at HITS Saugerties that day aboard her Remember Me. In response to her later fall, emergency personnel were called to the HITS Saugerties grounds and Weissbard was transported to Kingston Hospital (N.Y.), where she was pronounced dead.
Weissbard was from Manorville, N.Y., and had competed in the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, where she claimed the individual gold and helped the U.S. show jumping team take silver.