On Aug. 13, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF/US Equestrian) announced three new initiatives to support sporthorse welfare. The initiatives include revisions to the Horse Participation Consent Agreement, the development of a continuing education program for USEF team veterinarians, and the establishment of an education and research program in Chromatic BF’s name. 

Chromatic BF

The new initiatives follow the tragic death of Chromatic BF on April 18 at the 2024 World Cup Jumping Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following a spectacular round that earned him a podium finish. Since then, USEF has sought as much information as possible surrounding the circumstances that led to Chromatic BF’s death. The timing of Chromatic BF’s death raises questions about whether the medications administered that night contributed to the death.  

While the post-mortem report was inconclusive, following USEF’s engagement of experts to study the findings, USEF believes the most probable contributor is related to medications administered to the horse by a USEF-appointed veterinarian shortly before the horse collapsed. The USEF-appointed veterinarian made the decision to administer FEI-permitted medications that he believed would help sustain the horse’s performance in the days that followed.  

“I recognize Chromatic’s tragic death was the unintended consequence of a single veterinarian acting alone without prior consultation of anyone on Chromatic BF’s own team out of a well-intentioned but mistaken effort to help the horse prepare for the jumping final to be held two days later,” said Katharine C. (KC) Branscomb, the breeder and lifetime owner of Chromatic BF. “I truly appreciate that the USEF is taking substantive steps now towards improving sporthorse welfare and better protecting all our competition horses.”  

Learning from tragedy

USEF and Branscomb have worked together to develop a series of initiatives aimed at learning from this tragedy and mitigating the risk of a reoccurrence. They include:  

1. Revisions to the Horse Participation Consent Agreement: Revisions to the owner’s Horse Participation Consent Agreement, which will stipulate that, except in an emergency, no medications will be administered to horses by team veterinarians at international competitions without prior consent of the athlete, who is the person responsible under FEI regulations for substances present in a horse. 

2. Education initiatives: USEF, in collaboration with American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) veterinarians, will develop a continuing education program for USEF team veterinarians to ensure they are on the cutting edge of performance sports medicine and horse welfare in areas such as emerging therapies, equine exercise physiology and pharmacology.

3. Establishment of an Education/Research Program in Chromatic BF’s name: To promote a better understanding of sporthorse welfare and encourage scientific research to improve the lives and well-being of our high-performance equine athletes, USEF has pledged to make a financial contribution to establish a philanthropic fund in Chromatic BF’s name, which will be used to support research related to caring for sporthorses.

A positive path forward

“KC’s decision to work collaboratively with USEF and to move forward demonstrates her passion and commitment to the betterment of the lives of performance horses,” said USEF Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel Sonja Keating. “We are grateful to her for that and look forward to implementing these new initiatives. As the guardian of the sport, horse health and well-being are top priorities for USEF, and these new initiatives align with our mission as a federation.” 

“On behalf of the staff and leadership of the USEF, we want to thank the owner for working collaboratively with USEF to turn the loss of Chromatic BF into a positive path forward for learning to improve the future of sport horses in the U.S. and beyond,” said USEF Chief Executive Officer Bill Moroney.