The eventing community is reeling this week from the loss of a horse and rider beloved to Area I and beyond. Chloe Smith was 25 years old when both she and her 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Booze Cruze, were killed in an accident while riding with friends on Friday, June 5. Chloe and Booze Cruze were out with friends when an incident occurred with a jump, resulting in the horse landing on top of Chloe. Booze Cruze suffered a broken neck in the fall. Chloe was airlifted to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where she succumbed to her injuries several hours later. Additional details of the incident were not available.
Chloe Smith was a much-loved rider and coach who had just opened her own farm in Massachusetts the week before the accident. She had competed Booze Cruze through Training level most recently, and was looking forward to building her business at her new farm.
While I did not know Chloe personally, I knew her adjacently through mutual connections, and any loss in the eventing community is felt personally for all of us. Myself and the entire team at EN send our most heartfelt condolences to Chloe’s family and friends. A loss like this leaves us speechless and heartbroken, but it cannot come close to the loss felt by those who knew her the best.
For flower donations please refer to this link for Chloe’s services, all flowers to be sent to Solimine Funeral Home.
Chloe’s community and the eventing family at large is encouraged to consider sending donations to Buck Off Cancer to P.O. Box 113, Stow, MA 01775, as the nonprofit that Chloe held close to her heart.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 14th from 3pm-6pm at Solimine Funeral Home, and services to follow on Monday, June 15th at 10am at Clifton Lutheran Church (150 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945).
The news cycle has a cruel nature to it, especially today. We at EN want to show respect to those we have lost. Out of this respect, while we will continue to publish News & Notes, coverage and other articles on EventingNation.com this week, we will be refraining from sharing news on social media that would serve to perpetuate the news cycle. Chloe, Booze Cruze, and the others we have lost along the way deserve the space, and this gesture feels to be the least we can do as a media outlet.
