Omak Suicide Race claims another horse
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an article about the Omak Suicide Race called "The Race Where Horses Die" that leads with the description of the injury and death of a horse named Chavez. During an elimination trial on Sunday, July 29, Chavez broke his back and, according to the Journal, was later shot by his owner to end his life. This is the first known horse death resulting from the Omak Suicide Race since 2004.
Chavez' death was not publicly disclosed by race officials or the local media. Chavez was so badly injured that he nearly drowned in the river at the foot of Suicide Hill. Was Chavez not examined immediately by a veterinarian on site? If his injuries were so severe, why was he not humanely euthanized as soon as possible to end his suffering? Why was he allowed to be transported---surely in excruciating pain---miles away to his owner's property, to be shot to death?
How many other horses have lost their lives after elimination trials and the official race due to serious injuries? Even though these horses didn't die on the hill in front of the crowd, don't these deaths count? Over the weekend during the official races, no horses died, but some were eliminated or didn't show up. What happened to them? Despite organizers' claims that they have made the course safer than ever, in almost every race horses are injured. How many of these injuries are effectively a death sentence for horses who are later "euthanized?" And how many riders also suffer from serious injuries?
Light up the switchboards with calls to save horses' lives!
Take just a few minutes to call the following people today and demand that the race be cancelled next year so that no other horses or riders are injured or killed. If you can, follow up your phone call with an e-mail or a letter.
- Call Omak Mayor Dale Sparber and tell him you don't support the Suicide Race. Let Mayor Sparber know that although the Omak Stampede and Indian Encampment may be events that showcase the heart of his town to the rest of the world, the Suicide Race only shows Omak's heart to be greedy, uncaring and cruel. Tell him to put a stop to this barbaric event once and for all.
Dale Sparber, Mayor of Omak
Phone: 509.826.1170
E-mail: mayor@omakcity.com
Write to:
2 North Ash Street
PO Box 72
Omak, WA 98841
- Call the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race organizers and the Owners and Jockeys Association (the group that takes entries for the race) and tell them to stop treating horses like disposable objects.
Their argument for continuing the Suicide Race is for the sake of Native American tradition. Yet the race was devised in 1935 by an Omak furniture salesman---who was also a Stampede publicity chair---to bring more tourists and their dollars to Omak. The 12 local tribes that comprise the Colville Confederated Tribes never held a race in Omak, at night, on a treacherously steep hill, running multiple horses repeatedly under perilous conditions.
Even if the event was adopted as a new "tradition," animal cruelty has no place in the traditions of a modern society. Dog fighting, for example, is a "sport" that has been taking place in cultures around the world for hundreds of years. Yet this gruesome tradition of forcibly training an animal to savagely perform for entertainment is now condemned publicly in all 50 states.
Omak Stampede and Suicide Race Board
Jim Hensarling, President
Phone: 509.826.1983
Toll-Free: 1.800.993.6625
E-mail: stampede@northcascades.net
Write to:
PO Box 2028
Omak, WA 98841
Owners and Jockeys Association
Pete Palmer, President
Phone: 509.634.2577
E-mail: pete.palmer@colvilletribes.com
- Write the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and ask that it use its influence as a national organization to pressure the town of Omak to cease this brutal race.
The PRCA, a national sponsor of rodeo events similar to NASCAR's sponsorship of car racing, has repeatedly said they do not sanction the Suicide Race, and that it is unrelated to the Stampede rodeo, which they do sanction and sponsor. However, it is unclear how sponsorship funds are actually spent considering both the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race are consistently marketed and managed together.
The PRCA claims animal welfare is a major initiative of theirs. If that were the case, they would not be affiliated so closely with such a brutal event. Ask the PRCA to do the right thing and pull their sanctioning of the Omak Stampede until the Suicide Race is stopped.
View the Omak Stampede and World Famous Suicide Race home page to see the marketing for yourself.
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Keith Martin, Interim CEO
Phone: 719.593.8840
E-mail: prorodeo@prorodeo.com
Fax: 719.548.4876
Write to:
101 Pro Rodeo Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80919-2301
Things to consider
- When corresponding with people, please be respectful.
- If you receive a response please forward it to suicideerasers@paws.org or mail a copy to PAWS Suicide Erasers, PO Box 1037, Lynnwood, WA 98046.
Learn more about the Suicide Race
In the words of the Wall Street Journal, the Omak Suicide Race is The Race Where Horses Die. In memory of Chavez, and for all the horses of Omak who have no voice, thank you for speaking out!
|
