Deer Lodge man says horse drowning caught on video was a ‘catastrophic accident’

DEER LODGE — A prominent Deer Lodge-area businessman and rodeo rider is facing intense scrutiny after a video went viral on social media that appears to show one of his horses drowning in a mountain lake while riding him last summer.

“There was a lot of hate mail, a lot of death threats, that my phone went off with death threats,” said Reno Ward.

Ward’s younger sister, Terra Ward, posted this video on social media, claiming Reno Ward drowned her horse. The video has gotten a lot of attention and even the Powell County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

“Obviously the video is disturbing in its content, but the Powell County Sheriff’s Office is taking the matter seriously and will ultimately end it with a report presented to the county attorney,” said Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles.

No charges or arrests have been made.

Reno Ward says the June 11 incident was a tragic accident where the horse panicked when it stepped into deep water.

“It’s a very catastrophic accident and it’s been misinterpreted by the whole world,” Ward said.

The heavily edited video shows people laughing as the horse’s body was pulled from the water. Ward said this happened hours after the horse died and added a lot to the video taken out of context.

“I wasn’t laughing at the death of a horse. There was never any footage of me coming out of the water and I for one was happy to be alive when that horse came after me with its paws. First of all, distraught by what happened to the horse, in disbelief, I just lost this good, valuable pet,” he said.

Ward claims the video was posted because of a dispute with a family and meant to damage his reputation.

“There’s a lot of fear about my business, like my employees, so it’s hurting the lives of everyone around me,” Ward said.