Center Cleared in 2 Polo Pony Deaths, but Inhumane Treatment Cited

An investigation has cleared Los Angeles Equestrian Center officials and polo players of wrongdoing in connection with the deaths of two ponies during a polo match in March, animal regulation authorities said Tuesday.

But the investigation also showed that, in the last year, at least three injured polo ponies were illegally transported from the Griffith Park facility to the Wildlife Waystation animal preserve in Little Tujunga Canyon, slaughtered and fed to lions, tigers and bears, Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation officials said.

The ponies apparently were not tranquilized during the journey, said Michael Burns, district supervisor for the department.

“This is inappropriate and inhumane,” he said, adding that tranquilizing the animals would have ruined the meat for the preserve animals.

The investigation also showed that some riders in the polo matches handled the ponies too roughly, Burns said. He said riders had been seen jerking up on the gag bits around the horses’ heads as they spurred them to move. Riders also were observed using riding crops excessively on the ponies, he said.

“We are simply not going to allow that,” Burns said.

Center officials rebutted the investigation’s findings. Sako Baghdassarian, equestrian center manager, said he was unaware of any injured horses being moved to the animal preserve. He also denied that riders mistreat the horses during the games.

The animal regulation department issued 11 requirements for the continuation of the polo matches at the center, Burns said. One of the conditions stipulated that center personnel videotape each match in its entirety, without editing, and make the tapes available to department officials, he said.

In addition, any polo ponies that need to be destroyed because of injuries must be killed immediately and on center property, Burns said. No injured horses can be transported to another location to be killed, he said.

Also, the center must start keeping accurate and complete records on the buying and selling of ponies, and on what happens to horses that are no longer used in the game, Burns said.

The center will stage its last match of the spring season on Saturday. The fall season begins in August.

The investigation was launched in April after two ponies broke their legs during the first minutes of a March 11 polo match. Spectators told officials that they had seen horses being mistreated and horses with open sores being used in the games.

Burns said an examination by animal regulation department investigators and veterinarians showed that the polo horses “received good care with the exception of individual health problems.”