Rebecca Weissbard wears her gold medal at the Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2013. From maccabiusa.com By Diane Pineiro-Zucker, Daily Freeman
Posted: 09/01/16, 11:22 AM EDT
SAUGERTIES >> A young woman who won a gold medal at an international equestrian competition died after being thrown from her horse and having the animal fall on her during an event at HITS on the Hudson, police said Thursday.
Rebecca “Becca” Weissbard, 22, of Manorville on Long Island, was pronounced dead at the scene, Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said.
Saugerties police said officers responded to HITS (an acronym for Horse Shows in the Sun), 454 Washington Ave., at 1:17 p.m. Wednesday for a reported medical emergency. When officers arrived, emergency medical technicians from HITS already were administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation to Weissbard, police said.
Police said paramedics from Diaz Ambulance also responded to the scene but were unable to revive Weissbard.
Weissbard was on her second run through a 10-hurdle course and had just cleared the first hurdle when her horse struck a cross pole, Sinagra said. She was thrown from the animal, which then fell and landed on her, the chief said.
Sinagra said Weissbard’s mother was present and was the first person to come to her aid.
“The prayers of the Saugerties police are with the family,” the chief said.
A statement issued Thursday by HITS spokeswoman Emily Glass said: “It is with great sadness that HITS informs the equestrian community of an accident involving a talented young athlete. ... 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.”
Glass said Weissbard’s death was the first fatality at HITS, which opened its Saugerties facility in 2004. She did not know the condition of Weissbard’s horse, named Remember Me.
On its Facebook page, the Hampton Classic Horse Show said: “The Long Island equestrian community is heartbroken that Becca Weissbard died in a riding accident yesterday,” and the group extended “deepest sympathy” to her family and friends.
The Chronicle of the Horse website said “Weissbard had won a 1.0-meter class” at HITS the day of the fatal accident.
According to the Maccabi USA website, Weissbard was a “phenomenal” athlete who won an individual gold medal for Maccabi USA’s Equestrian team at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel and helped her U.S. show jumping team take the silver medal.
Maccabi USA Executive Director Jed Margolis called Weissbard “a very outgoing and enthusiastic” athlete whose “impact was beyond the medal.”
Margolis said the Maccabiah Games are the third-largest international sports competition and include 30 sports and 9,000 athletes. He said the games are an effort to “build Jewish pride and to build a connection to the state of Israel and fellow Jewish athletes from around the world.”