The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-04
FATAL ACCIDENT
At ORANGE SHOW
U. D. Benner Crushed
to D e a tn When
Horse Falls.
W. AS EXHIBITING
FAVOhIIE MOUNT
At Brush Jump Animal Makes
No Effort to Clear Bar, and
Goes Down-Fractured Skull
and Other Injuries Result
in Death Three Hours
Later.
Especial to The Times-Dlspa tch

Especial TO The Times Dlspa tchI
Charlottesville. Va. August 81. D.
Eenner Of Warrenton. one Of the most
widely known horsemen in the State.
and an exhibitor throughout the vir
sinia circuit and at the Long Branch
On. JD and other Northern horse
shows. died ii; the University of Vir-
ginia Hospital at $50 o'clock this
evening OF Injuries received at the
Orange horse show three hours pre-.
vious
In Inst Event of Program.
MI Benner's injuries were received
about o'clock while he was exhibit
ing MIS- string of horses from the Bell
AIR farm. The accident occurred near
the close OF the second day OF the
snow The last event on the program
the class for hunters and jumpers
free for all hes, performance up TO
nVe feet-was on. and Mr.. Benner on
his favorite mount. Sans-a-Tout. for
'ner!y owned By Eugene lowering, of
baltimore. was the third entry in the
ring. The splen I'D bay mare seemed
to he going badly after taking the
nrst hurdle. and the fact was com
mented on By spectators in the Judges
stand. The second hurdle was nego-
tiated in fair form. but when the third
1ump--a brush Jump-was reached, the
big animal seemed TO cake no effort
10 clear the bar. Her fore feet crashed
into the jump and she turned a com
p!ete somersault, landing on top Of
her rider. who had fallen forward, and
lay prone upon MIS- back
The accident occurred directly In
iron; Of the grandstand and women
shrieked with horror as the mare, az
ter rega!ning her feet, stepped with
her hind FOOT on Mr.. Bcnner's face
as he lay unconscious
Many of those who first reached the
: scene expected TO find Mr. Banners
neck broken from the sudden impact;
Several physicians examined the in
jured man. among them DR.. e Lester
Jones, Of Cuipeper: DIS. D. r, Weaver,
+ q Scott, ". J. Crit.enden and Page
Of orange: and DR.. Jack" Burke, OF
Alexandria, and announcement was
made that he had suffered conclusion
of the brain. broken nose and prob
ably Internal injuries. The patient
was placed upon q stretcher, furnished
by the United States army officers.
who were exhibiting six of the horses
shown at the Olympic Show, in Lon
don. removed TO the station at Orange
and placed on Chesapeake and Ohio
train No. ). which reached Charlottes-
Vile at 1915. He was accompanied by
Cochran, manager OF the Albemarle
Horse Show. The trip was very hard
on the patient, and he died about Sis,
an syNur after he reached the hospital
An e. animation showed that n double
rio was driven into the lung, his skull
fractured and all the ribs on his right
side broken. 1t was seen at once
that the case was hopeless, and no
operation was performed
- of
Benner. proprietor of the Bell-Air
Farm. near Warrenton. and one of the
most prominent farmers OF Fauquier
county, The father came to Virginia
about twenty-five years ago from
Pennsylvania, and for years was man
ager for w. II. Graf1ln, OF the Pa
tapsco Guano Company. Baltimore He
accumulated enough money to pur-
chase the Bell-Air Farm. formerly
owned by BILLY" Horner, and regarded
as one of the best estates in Eau
quier.
Well known Athlete.
The son was student at the Uni
versity of Virginia during the session
of '9l-'2 and took an active mart In
athletics He played third base on
the Varsity" base ball team. which
that year included such stars as
Buck" Schley. of Maryland: Addison
Lee
Thurman. OF Ohio; Gibson, of Georgia.
aond hurry MCGUIRE. Billy" Abbot
and Joe Winston, of Virginia "Tubby"
Benner, as he was called, was a clever
fielder, good batter and very fast on
the bases.
Mr.. Benner leaves a wife ana one
child
To-day's fatality was the second that
has occurred in the annals of Virginia
horse shows. and. by a singular coin
cidence. both OF the victims were resi-
dents of Warrenton. The first was
Charles w. Smith, who had his back
broken a the Norfolk show. about Ave
years ago Smith was riding in the,
class for pairs of jumpers, and was
thrown violently In taking a hurdle
iIhe fingered about two years after
Warrenton. Smith was at various
times manafer of the Warrenton, Nor
folk, Albemarlo and other shows. in
the Virginia Circuit
Hardly had the excited crowd at to-
\ days show recovered from the acct
dent TO Mr.. Benner. perhaps the mos
horrible ever witnessed at a Virginia
horse show, before another rider came
to grief In the same class In taking
the initial jump. Mrs. Allen Potts's
splendid bay gelding. Willow King.
threw his rider. Joe Ladd The hoy
was thrown violently to the ground,
and had not a by-stander rushed to his
aid the horse would have stepped
upon him. as he lay unconscious on the
ground with the bridal clutchel in his
hand His right collar bone was
broken. and his arm badly bruised He
!, suffered considerably from the shock.
He is an Albemarle hoy, his home be-
Ing near Castle HILL" the Rives es-
tato