Man Killed By Horse At Birthday Party Of Girl, 15, Whose Invitation Went Viral

A man has been killed by a horse at the 15th birthday party of a girl whose invitation went viral.

Some 1.3 million people had said they would attend Rubi Ibarra Garcia’s quinceañera birthday after her father’s Facebook video invitation went viral.

In reality, it was more like ten thousand than millions that turned up to the party at a ranch in central Mexico.

But family members still had to open a path for the girl through dozens of reporters and photographers so she could reach the mass being held for her in a field in San Luis Potosi.

However, the days events were marred by the news that a 66-year-old man was killed after being struck by a galloping horse during a race held in Rubi’s honour.

Warning: You may find this video distressing According to local media, Felix Penn owned one of the horses competing in the event and stepped into the path of one during the race.

In a video taken of the race he can be seen rolling in the dust kicked up by the horses and then lying unconscious on the ground.

Emergency workers said he died on the way to hospital.

The invitation for the event went viral after Crescencio Ibarra announced  he would be organising a 15th birthday party on December 26.

In the same message he said the winner of a horse race would be awarded 10,000 pesos (around £390).

Speaking about the event, he said it had all ‘got out of control’ and the invitation had been intended for neighbours and friends only.

He added: ‘That doesn’t mean we didn’t want to invite everyone, of course, but here our parties are regional… This is something we weren’t expecting.’

Tania Rodriguez, who traveled five hours by car to get there, told the Associated Press: ‘We found out through social media and we said ‘Let’s go. Everyone is invited? Let’s go.’

Her husband, Gonzalo Torres, added: ‘With all the coverage on her, Rubi felt like part of the family.’

As well as the horse race, the night involved fireworks, a huge banquet and concert broadcast on giant screen.