Owner's devastation as horse put down after hot air balloons fly overhead

The owner of a horse who had to be put down after he was panicked by low-flying hot air balloons says she has lost not just thousands of pounds – but her best friend too.

Andrea Cox spent long months rehabbing her 17-year-old gelding Taffechan Dafydd after he broke his pedal bone during flights held in place of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (BIBF) in August 2021, but his condition worsened and she had to say goodbye to him.

Andrea told H&H she had been planning to go to a show that day, but got to the yard to find multiple low-flying hot air balloons, and panicking horses.

“We were up early that day,” she said. “My friend got there just before me and saw the commotion, and the balloons. They were coming from all directions and the horses were galloping about. By the time I got there, ‘Dav’ was standing stock still, and I couldn’t budge him.”

Video shows Dav hobbling desperately towards the yard. He was taken to hospital as soon as he was comfortable enough to travel, and when he returned faced a long period of box rest.

“It was a nightmare,” Andrea said. “Especially in summer when you expect them to be turned out. He had remedial shoeing, we gradually started walking him slowly and it was going in the right direction, but then he wasn’t quite right. The vet said we’d done more than we could do and he should have been more recovered but he wasn’t.

“We gave him more time but it didn’t get better, it got worse, to the point we had to have him put to sleep.”

The fiesta describes itself as “Europe’s largest annual hot air balloon festival”, attracting more than 100 balloons over four days.

“They advertise it as a mass event and it was the mass of them that was the problem,” Andrea said, adding that the balloons had never flown directly over her yard before. “If it had been one balloon, we might have been all right, but it was the number of them.”

Andrea added that had she been informed the balloons would fly so low overhead, she could have kept the horses in, but that she had no notice. She has had no luck either in her approaches to the fiesta or insurers.

“My insurance for Dav covered bills up to £3,000 but with everything, it cost me just over £9,000,” she said. “The fiesta hasn’t shown any remorse; they did come up with £500 when it first happened, as a ‘gesture’ but that’s an insult.

“And it’s not just that. Dav was a lovely, funny character – he was my best friend.”

A spokesman for the BIBF told H&H the 2021 fiesta did not run, owing to Covid restrictions, but “a number of flights did take place from a wide variety of locations across the city”.

“The fiesta was made aware that during one such flight, a number of balloons flew in proximity to a field where a horse (Dav) was stabled and that the horse had been injured,” she added. “Our land owner relations team visited the property and discussed the situation with the owner. These discussions have continued for many months.”

The spokesman said all balloons are legally obliged to have appropriate insurance, and the fiesta passed on the details of the balloons “it had identified as being near the location on the day in question”, but the balloons’ insurers did not accept liability.

“Following this, the fiesta passed the claim on to its own insurers, who appointed a loss adjustor to independently consider the claim,” the spokesman said.

the spokesman forwarded the fiesta’s insurer’s comments: “Whilst it is quite clear that the ill health suffered by Dav and the resultant consequence have been devastating to you, both financially and emotionally, I must advise that it is not accepted that BIBF should be found legally liable for Dav’s injuries. In stating this, we point out that BIBF had no control over the operation of individual balloons. Individual balloons/pilots did, of course, have their own insurance in relation to any possible negligence. I have seen no evidence either, to show that any balloons were flown unreasonably close to your property/Dav. I understand that, prior to the incident, the location of the stables/land had not been requested to be considered a ‘sensitive area’. Further, I understand that the individual balloon pilots do not accept that they flew directly over the stables/land, nor lower than 1,000 feet above mean sea level in any event. Even if you were to prove that they did, it is denied that this would confer liability on BIBF. In all the circumstances, whilst having great sympathy in relation to your experience/predicament, I must advise that legal liability is not conceded by or on behalf of BIBF, and it follows therefore that I am unable to make any offer of compensation on this occasion.”

The BIBF spokesman added that hot air balloon enthusiasts and pilots are “as passionate about their sport” as riders.

“The ballooning community and fiesta are very sorry to hear of Dav’s passing and the distress this has caused,” she said. “We work throughout the year on creating positive relationships with landowners so that the fiesta can take place and balloonists are able to fly balloons in the local area. We will continue to take a proactive approach to these relationships to ensure we do our best to mitigate any issues for the future.”

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