Super Hit a dressage horse that Ann Romney owned was sold in 2008 for $125,000. This in and of itself is no big deal. Good horses are capable of bringing big money -- again, nothing unusual there. Where it gets a bit more dicey is drugging horses to sell them.
Catherine Norris purchased Super Hit and after spending the big bucks discovered that he was not capable of performing dressage as promised -- not because he was untrained or better suited to some other equine sport, but because he was physically incapable due to a defect in his foot.
The horse's toxicology report is included below with a link to an article that shows the lawsuit papers too. When the horse was sold, he was doped with narcotics and sedatives. The drugs on board Super Hit included: Butorphanol a morphinan-type synthetic opioid analgesic, Delomidine an imidazole derivative and α2-adrenergic agonist, used as a large animal sedative, primarily used in horses, Romifidine a drug that is used in veterinary medicine as a sedative mainly in large animals such as horses, and Xylatine a drug that is used for sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation, and analgesia in animals such as horses, cattle and other non-human mammals.
Wow!
Dr. Steven Soule, who has been the United States Equestrian Team veterinarian since 1978, writes, “In my 38 years of practice, I have never come across a drug screen such as this where the horse has been administered so many different medications at the same time.”
Again, wow!
So now we have Seamus strapped to the roof of the car and Super Hit doped up for sale. Will there be a third? I imagine there will be, and when it shows up, I'm sure you'll see it here.
New York Times story
Toxicology Report Feb 2008
