One participant in an endurance horse race (of 25 or 50 miles) sued another participant for injuries the plaintiff sustained when the defendant’s horse bolted after being kicked by another horse that it had approached too closely from the rear. Based in large part on a video taken by another rider’s head camera, the court held that horse tailgating and injuries from horses that react to that condition are a normal part of the sport of endurance riding. The decision also holds that plaintiff failed to present evidence sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to her claims for gross negligence or strict liability for a dangerous animal.
California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1 (Aaron, J.); June 22, 2017 (partially published July 17, 2017); 2017 WL 3016756