A 13-year-old boy died in a freak accident as he fell off his pony while making a turn. Jack, son of trainer Henry de Bromhead, was riding a pony on Rossbeigh Beach at Glenbeigh Racing Festival when the tragedy struck. Tributes are pouring in for the sweet little 13-year-old boy.

It is understood that the 13-year-old boy was making a turn while on the water's edge and fell off the pony on the edge of Ireland's one of the most beautiful beaches at 5 pm yesterday.

Pronounced Dead

Medical staff rushed to help the boy, but the little boy was pronounced dead. Jack's family was present at the course when this tragic accident happened. The young lad's body has been taken to Tralee's Kerry University Hospital. A post-mortem will be conducted.

Cancel Everything

A file is being prepared for the coroner as Gardai will be treating the accident. Glenbeigh Races canceled all the other races at the event post the unfortunate tragedy. Catherine Cournane, Cahersiveen Races official, told how the little boy Jack won his first race at the festival last week. She mentioned that the boy was talented.

How horses and donkeys help desert animals, plants

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Animals to the rescue

According to a report by AFP, for thousands of years, horses and donkeys have been some of our species' most important partners. A new study published shows they're also friends to desert animals and plants, by digging deep wells that provide a vital source of water, especially at the height of summer. Biologist Erick Lundgren, lead author of the paper in Science, told AFP he first began noticing the phenomenon while working in western Arizona as a field technician studying river systems.

Animals helping each other

"People just didn't think it was worthy of scientific attention," said the scientist, who is now at the University of Technology Sydney. Lundgren had read about African elephants digging wells that were the only source of water for other animals during the dry season, and wanted to know if horses and donkeys might play a similar role in America. The idea was intriguing, "especially since donkeys and horses are considered agents of biodiversity harm" as they are not native species in the region, he said.

Increased water availability

Over the course of three summers, he and his team surveyed sites in the Sonoran Desert that stretches across Arizona and California. They found that wells dug by the "equids" to depths of up to six feet (two meters) increased water availability for many native desert species, and decreased the distances between important water sources during dry periods. The wells were especially important during the hottest and driest parts of summer, when they provided the only available water source at some sites.

Buffer against intermittent streams

Lundgren said the horses and donkeys acted as "buffers" against the extreme variability of desert streams from year to year. "The donkey wells kept water in the system. And these features were used by pretty much every species you could picture, including some surprising ones like black bears, that we didn't expect to see in the desert," he said. Other species that flocked to the wells and were caught on camera included mule deer, bobcats, Woodhouse's scrub jay and javelinas.

A more nuanced understanding

Horses and donkeys were introduced to the Americas by Europeans to assist with the colonization of the continent, but their use declined with the advent of the internal combustion engine. Since then, they have been studied as "invasion biology," said Lundgren, which does not consider them to be a part of the local wildlife. But this thinking is too tunnel-visioned and has prevented scientists from having a more nuanced understanding of their effects on their ecosystems, he argued.

She gave her condolences to the boy's friends, family, extended family, and the racing community. She mentioned they had a tremendous weekend when the boy was with them the last week. Colm Sayers, Dingle Race Committee Chair, said everyone looks out for each other in the tightly knit pony racing community. He said everyone's heart is broken, and his sympathies go to the young boy's family.

FAQs

Q1. How did Jack die?
A1. Jack, son of Henry de Bromhead, dies in a freak accident as he fell off his pony while making a turn.

Q2. Who is Jack's father?
A2. Jack's father is the famous top horse trainer, Henry de Bromhead.

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Horse trainer Henry de Bromhead's son Jack dies in freak accident at Glenbeigh Racing Festival

It is understood that the 13-year-old boy was making a turn while on the water's edge and fell off the pony on the edge of Ireland's one of the most beautiful beaches.