A missing horse worth at least $10,000 was found by a
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office mounted search and rescue unit around 4
p.m. Monday after he went missing Saturday.
During the two days the
horse was missing, his owner was willing to give a $10,000 reward to the
person who found his horse.
Lucian Spataro, 50, and Masquerade, the
7-year-old white Arabian, were competing in an endurance ride Saturday
morning at McDowell Mountain Regional Park when the horse tripped and
fell.
"He got up and was disoriented, I'm sure," Spataro said.
"There's adrenaline rushing through your veins, so you don't know what's
going on. He was hyped and probably went in the wrong
direction."
Spataro, also filled with adrenaline, was able to run
about 5 miles to a base camp, despite severe injuries.
About 20
family members, friends, and other riders and horses from the competition
searched for the horse since Saturday.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's
Office provided a helicopter when Masquerade first went missing and
volunteer Sheriff's Posse members continued to help.
Irene Murphy,
endurance-ride manager, was coordinating the search.
"In endurance
rides, there are many incidents where horses do get lost," Murphy said. "A
lot of times, the horse returns the same day."
Maricopa County
Sheriff's Office officials said they were assisting park rangers due to the
increased amount of activity in the park. They were able to escort the horse
out but were not sure if he sustained any injuries over the two days he was
missing.
-- Posted By Steph Teeter to Endurance
Tracks at 12/02/2008 06:59:00 AM
