Man dies after horse-related injury in Dammeron Valley

June 30, 2018 Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE — A man died after suffering a serious injury from an incident involving a horse Saturday morning.

Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin Dye said responders were called to the scene at around 11:11 a.m. Saturday after people noticed horses returning to town without their riders.

A man was riding a horse on a trail between a Dammeron Valley residential area and Upper Sand Cove Reservoir with his family, Dye said, and after his family finished riding, he wanted to continue.

The man was on the horse and guiding two other horses when he was hurt. The page to responders referenced the man being bucked off a horse, but since no one was there to witness the accident, Dye couldn’t confirm whether that was the cause of the injury.

“People witnessed three horses arrive back into the valley where he originated from and no riders on those horses,” Dye said.

The people then went and looked around to try to figure out why three horses returned with no riders. By the time the rider was found and when Dammeron Valley Fire was paged, Dye said the man had been out in the desert for about an hour.

“At the time, he was unable to speak,” Dye said. “He was dehydrated.”

Responders from Gold Cross Ambulance administered fluids to the man and tried to get any vitals that they could. A crew from Intermountain Life Flight arrived to transport him to Dixie Regional Medical Center.

“Unfortunately, the patient passed away after he arrived at the hospital,” Dye said.

He suffered a hip break and snap of a femoral vein, Dye said, which caused an internal bleed. Dye noted that the man wasn’t wearing any protection at the time of the incident.

“He was just a cowboy riding his horse and just had a bad horse day.”

This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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