Patrick and Michelle Payne have paid tribute to a truck driver who died transporting their horses after he died in a horror crash on Monday.
Three unraced horses also died, the Paynes confirmed. The truck driver was later identified as Peter Butler.
The horses were on the way to jumpouts at Camperdown when the track carrying the horses rolled off the road in rural Victoria.
‘’Peter brought character and laughter to our jumpout mornings, and he will be sorely missed as a regular at our stable,” Payne Racing said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with the team at South West Horse Transport, Peter’s work colleagues Troy, Bruce and Brooke.”
“We would like to thank the emergency services and responders who attended the scene including Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, Country Fire Authority and SES volunteers and for the countless locals and members of the public who assisted at the scene.”
“A special mention and thank you to the veterinarians and the entire team at Golden Plains Equine, we thank you for taking care of the six injured horses who survived.”
The stable confirmed three horses had died in the accident while others were injured.
“We have now lost a total of three unraced horses, our heart goes out to the owners of those lost and to the owners of those whom were injured and still receiving care,” the statement read.
“We can assure all horses received the best of care and were attended to ASAP and we are truly grateful to everyone who assisted in making this possible.”
“The accident has deeply impacted the entire team as well as the wider racing community and we thank you for your support.”
