Trading Aces, Boyd Martin’s former four-star ride and Phillip Dutton’s 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (France) mount, died of a presumed cardiac incident on Sept. 27.

After his career with Martin, “Oscar” was sold as an equitation horse to Alexandra Pielet. He was supposed to show in the ASPCA Maclay Region 4 qualifier on Sept. 25 at the Kentucky National Horse Show, but he stopped after a jump and didn’t seem quite right. 

Trainer Valerie Renihan took him to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for examination, and veterinarians there discovered the gelding’s red blood cell count was low. On the morning of Sept. 27 they had him scoped for ulcers with no results, and he died later that day. He was transported to Cornell University (N.Y.) for a necropsy.

“We were all trying to figure it out what it was,” said Renihan. “We had three different vets look at him in the last three days just trying to see what it was. When he pulled up like that, we were like, ‘Something’s wrong. Let’s just stop.’ Alex the next day just got on him with a hackamore and took him out in the fields of Kentucky and let him graze and wander. I’m glad his last few days were what he would want them to be.”

“I’m going to miss riding him and just seeing him,” said Pielet. “I’m glad that he got to finish on a happy ride, and that I was able to be around him because he was a cool guy. He was a horse of a lifetime, and I was privileged to make him my equitation horse.”

Kylie Lyman produced the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Coevers Diamond Boy—Ballyvannon Beauty VII, Leaburg) through the CCI** level and took him to his first advanced horse trials. After he won the Dansko Fair Hill International CCI** (Md.) in 2011, Martin formed the Trading Aces LLC syndicate to purchase the gelding. 

When Martin broke his leg in the spring of 2014, he gave the ride to his mentor Phillip Dutton for the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, where the pair finished eighth. Due to their success, Martin offered to let Dutton keep the ride for the World Games team.

In 2013, the gelding also dabbled in dressage with Martin’s wife Silva, and took fourth at fourth level at Dressage At Devon (Pa.) that year. 

Oscar excelled at the CIC format, winning the Richland Park CIC*** (Mich.) in 2013 and the Red Hills CIC*** (Fla.) in 2014. He went on to win the inaugural $50,000 Wellington Eventing Showcase (Fla.) with Martin, and because he’d struggled with longer tracks Boyd kept him in Florida to explore a new career.

“He was probably one of the most talented and amazing horses I’ve ever had in my career,” said Martin. “He had unbelievable movement in the dressage, and power and scope in his jump. He was a beautiful statute of a horse, and he had the coolest personality. It’s quite heartbreaking thinking of all the highs and lows we went through in our career.”

Trading Aces’ career spanned several rings. 

The gelding paired with Pielet in her first season in the equitation ring. The pair qualified for both the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final (Pa.) and the ASPCA Maclay Final (Ky.) last fall. Oscar showed with a number of different riders this spring before Pielet took the reins back in July. She had plans to show him at the equitation finals this fall.

“He was super as an equitation horse,” said Renihan. “We loved him. He’s very grouchy in the stall; that’s how he got the name Oscar. He was for sure a good horse and did his job amazingly.”

“He was an amazing horse in the sense that he competed internationally in eventing with me and Phillip; he competed at the Dressage at Devon with my wife Silva, represented the country; and then he went on to compete at the Maclay Finals in equitation,” said Boyd. “There wouldn’t be many horses in the world that have accomplished so much success in the different horse sports.”