LONDON (AP) — Five military horses spooked by noise from a building site bolted during routine exercises on Wednesday near Buckingham Palace, threw off four riders and caused chaos as they galloped loose through central London streets and collided with vehicles during the busy morning rush hour.
The commotion erupted when the horses from the Household Cavalry, which were conducting an extended exercise for an upcoming military parade, presumably became alarmed by the sound of concrete falling off a moving walkway at a construction site in Belgravia, a swanky neighborhood just to the west of the palace.
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LONDON (AP) — Five military horses spooked by noise from a building site bolted during routine exercises on Wednesday near Buckingham Palace, threw off four riders and caused chaos as they galloped loose through central London streets and collided with vehicles during the busy morning rush hour.
A white horse on the loose bolts through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
A white horse on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Five of the seven horses ran off and four soldiers were thrown off. Three of them were hospitalized with injuries. None of them were deemed to be life-threatening.
The horses — minus their riders — then ran through main roads in central London, hitting vehicles and stunning commuters as they headed to work. The horses were all captured shortly after and are back at the barracks in Hyde Park undergoing medical tests.
Witnesses saw one of the loose animals crashing into a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel nearby, shattering windows. Another of the animals crashed into a tour bus, smashing the windshield.
Pictures and videos shared widely across social media show two of the horses — one white, one black — running at speed down Aldwych, in between London’s historic financial center and the busy West End theater district.
The white horse's face and legs were soaked in blood. A British Army spokesperson was not able to confirm what caused the injury.
Megan Morra, who was on her way to work, told the BBC that she saw the striking image of the white horse with a head injury.
“There was a lot of blood,” she said. “I was a bit distressed to be honest, looking at the poor horse.”
The horses are from the Household Cavalry, the ceremonial guard of the monarch and a feature of state functions in London.
The extent of the injuries the horses suffered were not immediately known.
In a video statement on X, formerly Twitter, Matt Woodward, Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, said around 150 horses are exercised every morning in parks and on the roads to keep them fit and get them used to the surroundings and the noise so they are less easily panicked during parades.
“This morning, however, a small group of horses were spooked by some construction works on a quiet side road in Belgravia where building materials were dropped from height right next to them," he said.
“Thankfully, considering the frequency of exercise and numbers of horses involved, this type of incident is extremely rare," Woodward added., He thanked the emergency responders and members of the public for reacting quickly.
“This enabled swift treatment of our soldiers and helped bring our injured horses to safety,” he added.
The London Ambulance Service said it treated four people across three separate incidents in the space of 10 minutes after the incident erupted around 8:30 a.m.
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
A white horse on the loose bolts through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
A white horse on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Lauren Coughlin held onto the lead Friday in the CPKC Women’s Open, while Canadian star Brooke Henderson was derailed by closing bogeys at windy and smokey Earl Grey Golf Club.
Coughlin followed her opening 4-under 68 on Thursday in chilly and windy conditions with a 70 on Friday to get to 6 under, a stroke ahead of Hannah Green and Haeran Ryu. The temperature made it into the 70s after barely climbing into the 60s on Thursday.
“I think I handled it really well overall,” Coughlin said. “It was just really difficult to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind and the crosswind and how firm the greens got. And they had some tough pins, especially considering the direction of the wind.”
Playing through a smokey haze from wildfires, Henderson bogeyed the final four holes in her afternoon round for a 73 that left her seven strokes back at 1 over. She won the 2018 tournament.
Coughlin is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions. The 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is winless on the LPGA Tour.
On Friday, she had three front-none birdies and dropped a stroke on the par-4 11th. In two rounds, she's 7 under on the first nine holes and 1 over on the second nine.
“I putted extremely well,” Coughlin said. “Two-putted really well all day. Took advantage of the front nine, which you have to, and then kind of hold on on the back nine.”
Green matched Coughlin with a 70. The Australian is a two-time winner this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.
“It was tough again out there,” Green said. “There was some pretty strong wind gusts, especially our last few holes, so committing to the shot you were envisioning was kind of difficult.”
Ryu bogeyed the 18th for 69.
“The weather is really bad,” Ryu said. “Is a little bit cold and so windy.”
The 23-year-old South Korean player won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year for her first LPGA Tour title. She was second last week in Ohio in the Dana Open.
Three-time champion Lydia Ko had a 71 to join second-ranked Lilia Vu (70) and Jennifer Kupcho (72) at 3 under. Ko won as an amateur in 2012 at age 15, successfully defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.
“It’s not easy — and I think the scores are showing,” Ko said. “Anything kind of under par the past couple days is a really solid round. I’m pretty happy with the way I started this week.”
Kupcho topped the leaderboard at 8 under after birdieing five of the first eight holes in her morning round, then was 5 over the rest of the way. She had a double bogey on the par-4 16th, four bogeys and a birdie on her final nine holes.
“I’m pretty upset,” Kupcho said. “I think in hindsight I still hit 15 greens. Like I was hitting the ball really good. Three-putted 10 and 11 and four-putted 16. I didn’t play bad. Just had a couple shaky putts down the stretch — and that’s going to happen.”
Lexi Thompson was in the group with Henderson tied for 26th at 1 over after a 73 The American plans to play a limited schedule after this season.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Lexi Thompson, of the United States, chips on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, watches her tee shot on the fifteenth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, lines up a putt on the fourteenth green during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
New Zealand's Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
Korea's Haeran Ryu hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Brooke Henderson hits a tee shot on the second hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits from the fairway on the sixth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
