Complex sentence: In some cases, the owner of a promising, or even prize-winning, horse was temporarily strapped for cash and decided to insure and then kill the animal; tthis was the situation in the 1982 murder of the show jumper Henry the Hawk.
Split into simpler sentences: In some cases, the owner of a horse was temporarily strapped for cash and decided to insure and then kill the animal despite the fact that it was a promising or even prize-winning performer. This was the situation in the 1982 murder of the show jumper Henry the Hawk.