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Horses killed in I-10 wreck were championship Arabians
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GROSSE TETE - The twisted wreckage of a trailer is all that's left of a grisly accident that resulted in the death of several expensive show horses Sunday. The trailer housed five of them coming back from a regional horse show in Fort Worth, Texas.
"They all won championships, regional championships, at this horse show," explained Joel Gangi, who trained the horses. "A couple of them have already been United States National and Reserve National champions. That's the highest honor an Arabian horse can actually receive."
The accident involved five vehicles and closed eastbound lanes of I-10 for six hours. No people were killed, but four of the horses died when an 18-wheeler rear-ended the trailer.
"Four of them are dead. Somebody lost their beloved animal," Gangi said.
One horse named Tori had just won big at the show Saturday, her stall at Gangi's barn in Prairieville is now empty. Gangi trained each one of them and has been doing it for nearly 50 years.
It's an unfathomable emotional loss to their owners and those who spent huge amounts of time training the Arabians.
"I don't think anyone is doing well. I think they're all suffering a tremendous loss."
It's a massive financial loss as well. Though Gangi wouldn't say just how much, he said the value of the horses in the trailer was well over half-a-million dollars.
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