Rancho Santa Fe Barn Fire Kills 7 Prize Horses

Seven prize show-jumping horses died in a fire that broke out early Wednesday in a barn at an exclusive boarding and training stable in Rancho Santa Fe.

Investigators said they suspect that an electrical malfunction or a smoldering cigarette caused the 2:30 a.m. blaze at Rancho Pasatiempo.

It took 15 firefighters from the Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach and San Diego fire departments about 45 minutes to extinguish the flames in the barn, which was reduced to a smoldering ruin.

After the blaze was out, firefighters discovered the bodies of six horses, all of them valuable animals known as “hunter jumpers.” A seventh horse had been released during the fire, but was so severely burned that it was put out of its misery.

Horses Worth $360,000

Diedre Wood, a spokeswoman for the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department, said the value of the barn was estimated at $100,000 and that of the seven horses at $360,000.

All the animals were privately owned and were being boarded at the stable, which houses about 50 horses in a number of barns on the property, along the 12000 block of Via de la Valle.

Richard Rosenblatt, the stable owner, could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but his wife, Lois, said in a telephone interview that owners of the horses were being notified.

“It was an unfortunate fire,” she said, but declined further comment.

Several stable hands were asleep in their quarters near the barn but were unaware of the blaze until a passing motorist, Brett Maddox, noticed the flames and alerted them while a friend went to call the Fire Department, Wood said.

Maddox also managed to release one of the animals that was in a section of the barn farthest from the flames, but he could not get to any others before being forced back by the heat and smoke.

The animal that escaped was not corralled until after daylight. The horse suffered extensive burns on its back and was put to death by a veterinarian called to the scene.

Sgt. Conrad Grayson of the Sheriff’s arson and bomb squad said few clues to the cause of the fire could be found in the charred remains of the barn but said arson had been ruled out.

Investigators combed the wreckage until late in the afternoon, digging through the debris with shovels. Grayson speculated that either an electrical malfunction or a dropped cigarette may have ignited the blaze, but the exact cause remains under investigation.

He said hired hands at the stable reported that a small fire had broken out in the barn Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours before the fatal blaze, but was quickly doused by the workers.

Although the Fire Department was not called to the scene on Tuesday, an electrician was reportedly called in to check for problems, authorities said. It remained unclear, however, whether any repairs were made.