Horse Dies, Riders Hurt In Omak Stampede's `Suicide Race'

OMAK - One horse was killed and three riders were injured in a preliminary heat of a downhill horse race that animal-rights activists have condemned as inhumane.

The horse, named Deuce, was euthanized Friday night after it fell and broke its shoulder during the first heat of the Omak Stampede's World Famous Suicide Race.

Tony Desautel of Omak was riding Deuce when the horse crashed into a pileup of other competitors at the bottom of the hill and struggled to the other side of the Okanogan River. The animal collapsed and began floating with the current.

Desautel suffered multiple scrapes and was treated at the scene by medics.

Also injured were Aaron Carden of Omak and George Flett of Wellpinit, Stevens County, whose horses also were caught in the pileup. Carden hurt his leg and Flett suffered an undisclosed injury. Both were treated and released from the hospital.

Several of the 14 riders were thrown off their mounts as the horses hit the Okanogan River at the bottom of Suicide Hill.

"It's not fun, but this sometimes happens," Stampede director Jack Miller said yesterday. "It's another weird occurrence."

Miller said Deuce had been slowed by a horse that stumbled in front of it and stepped on by a horse behind it.

This is the third consecutive year a horse had to be euthanized after being hurt in the race, in which horses and their riders gallop down a steep hill and cross the Okanogan River.

Activists with the Progressive Animal Welfare Society condemned the race as cruel and unnecessary.

"It's a terribly brutal event, and it really should stop," said society advocate Mike Jones. "(Deuce's death) seems to be par for the course for the Suicide Race. They should move on to other events that don't bring death and injury to animals."

But Miller said there were no plans to discontinue the race.

"We at Omak Stampede are extremely grateful it appears 97 percent of the public support us," Miller said. "I just believe that this race is such a part of the social fabric of Okanogan County."