LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The U.S. Equestrian Foundation announced it will cancel the USEF Pony Finals event scheduled for Tuesday after it learned that multiple individuals tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the Kentucky Summer Classic over the weekend.
USEF and Kentucky Horse Shows made the decision to cancel the Pony finals event, as well as the remainder of the Kentucky Summer Classic, on Saturday.
“U.S. Equestrian and Kentucky Horse Shows prioritize the safety of our members, participants, support teams, staff and their families,” the organizations said in a release issued Saturday. “To mitigate the risk of spread of the virus, USEF and the competition organizer together have made the decision to cancel the Kentucky Summer Classic effective at the end of competition today.”
USEF and Kentucky Horse shows said that four people total tested positive for the virus. One of which was a braider who worked in multiple barns.
USEF is currently notifying all individuals who attended the event of the positive test results.
Although contact tracing is generally the responsibility of public health agencies, USEF said that in accordance with CDC guidelines it will also ask those individuals for the names of others they had close contact with at the competition so it may inform them directly that they might have been exposed to the virus.
Event organizers have since begun to sanitize the venue and will determine whether competition can resume later this month.
