A heartbroken horse owner has told Bristol Live how she blames the Bristol Balloon Fiesta for the injury and subsequent death of her much-loved horse, which she says was hurt when it was spooked by hot air balloons flying over its paddock.
The animal in question - a top level dressage horse called Dav - suffered a serious injury to its leg when it reared up and attempted to escape its open paddock as a large number of balloons floated over early in the morning during the fiesta back in 2021.
The injury ended his dressage career, and never properly healed, so his owner, Andrea Cox, took the heartbreaking decision to have him put to sleep last month.
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Dav was one of several horses being stabled on Ram Hill in Coalpit Heath, near Bristol, that morning in August 2021. Because of Covid, rather than have the traditional four-day event at Ashton Court, fiesta organisers staged a series of events, mass ascents and flights over the first two weeks of August that year, including mass ascents taking off from different locations around the city.
Andrea said she was called by her friend who also stables horses in the paddock at Ram Hill, to say the horses were going crazy because a large number of balloons were flying over.
“I got there as soon as I could. The balloons were still around in the sky, and we concentrated on calming the horses down and getting them indoors. Dav was clearly injured,” said Andrea.
Video footage from that day shows the large Welsh gelding trying and failing to be able to walk properly as he is led across the paddock. Andrea said that as well as the severe leg injury, she initially thought he was also mentally traumatised by what happened.
“I thought it was neurological, the problems he had. He spent two days in the large animal hospital near Berkeley, and they found he had a broken pedal bone in his foot. He had to wear special shoes, and was stabled for five months. Then I had to walk him in hand for a few more months, just to get him back up and able to walk again,” she added.
The injury stopped his dressage career - Dav was an affiliated dressage horse and Andrea competed with him at a high level. Dav was 15 when the balloons came over and Andrea said she had hoped he would make a good dressage training horse as he got older.
But the injury meant he could no longer do the moves and steps required, so a new role as a hacking horse was found for him last year.
“Even that wasn’t to be,” Andrea said, and as 2022 became 2023, she explained: “It got worse and worse, and he couldn’t even do that. It was no life for him not being able to walk or run properly, so we have had to put him to sleep. It’s heartbreaking. He was a stunning horse, I’ve had him 13 years and he was 17. I would have expected him to live well into his 20s,” she added.
Andrea contacted the balloon fiesta to report the incident, and said she and her friend counted as many as 20 balloons that floated over the paddock that morning.
Two officials from the fiesta came the next day to talk to her and investigate what had happened and get flight information, she claims. “They fobbed me off a bit, and said it would be difficult to prove which balloons in particular had been nearest,” Andrea claims. Eventually, she was given the details for three balloon pilots whose flight data showed that they flew directly over the paddock, but Andrea’s attempts to claim on their insurance for the damages and bills failed.
“So I went to the balloon fiesta itself. They advertise these things as a ‘mass ascent’, and I think it was the ‘mass’ part of that - all the balloons coming over at once - that spooked Dav and the other horses. One or two balloons wouldn’t have done that, it was the fact there were lots of them all at once,” she added.
But Andrea’s attempts to take legal action against the Balloon Fiesta itself, or claim on the fiesta’s insurance have also been rebuffed and rejected by the fiesta - for two reasons. Firstly, there was no evidence the balloons were flying too low over the paddock, and secondly, the area where the horses kept had not been designated a no-low-fly zone. Landowners can flag that demand to balloon pilots and the fiesta, and they will avoid flying below 1,000ft over that space, or fly over it at all. But because Andrea hadn’t done that in advance, the fiesta maintained it was not liable for what happened to Dav.
“It feels very frustrating. I had no idea that no-fly zone was a thing, because this has never happened before. I didn’t have a no low-fly zone in place, because why would I? The balloons rarely come out this far. This is a horsey area, and there are lots of paddocks with lots of horses all over this part of the countryside,” she added.
Faced with the costs of all the bills and losing Dav, Andrea said she is in no position to pay to take costly legal action against the balloon fiesta to challenge its position. “I’m so out of pocket, I can’t even afford another horse,” she said.
In legal letters to Ms Cox, seen by Bristol Live, lawyers for the balloon fiesta and the three pilots that had been identified as being closest to the paddock said they would challenge any claim they had done anything wrong, flew too low, or were responsible for the injury to Dav.
A spokesperson for the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta told Bristol Live: “The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a not-for-profit organisation, responsible for organising the annual hot air balloon fiesta that takes place at Ashton Court, Bristol. In 2021 the fiesta could not take place because of the pandemic restrictions, but a number of flights did take place from a variety of 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. Our Land Owner Relations Team visited the property and discussed the situation with the owner. These discussions have continued for many months.
“All hot air balloons have a legal duty to carry appropriate and adequate insurance, and the fiesta identified and passed on the details of the hot air balloons it had identified as being near the location on the day in question to the owner. Unfortunately, the insurance companies of these balloons did not accept liability. Following this, the fiesta passed the claim on to its own Insurers, who subsequently appointed a loss adjuster to independently consider the claim,” she added.
The findings of the insurer are as follows: "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 balloon 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 1000 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 statement added.
The spokesperson for the balloon fiesta said everyone involved with the event and all the balloonists were sorry to hear about Dav’s passing and the distress this had caused.
“The fiesta and the community of pilots and hot air balloon enthusiasts are passionate about their sport, as are the many people who enjoy owning and riding horses. Both are as committed and as passionate about their hobby and sport as each other,” she said.
“The ballooning community and Fiesta are very sorry to hear of Dav's passing and the distress this has caused. 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 and will continue to take a proactive approach to these relationships to ensure we do our best to mitigate any issues for the future,” she added.
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