Horses Killed, Owner Burned in Rogers, MN Barn Blaze

Fire destroyed a barn and arena at a well-known horse farm near Rogers, leaving an owner hospitalized after suffering severe burns while trying to save some of his animals, the property's operators reported.

The blaze erupted late Monday afternoon at Grace Farms, a dressage training and boarding facility on 24 acres set back amid woods in the 26000 block of Tucker Road.

Three horses died in the fire, said Rogers Fire Chief Brad Feist, who added that the state fire marshal is in charge of investigating how the blaze started.

Co-owner Chris Leatherdale, 49, remains in critical condition Tuesday at Hennepin County Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The farm's Facebook page reports that Leatherdale has serious burns on at least 30 percent of his body "from trying to save the horses" and will be hospitalized for at least the next three months.

"In regular Chris fashion, he's concerned about everything else and cracking jokes," read a late Monday update on the farm's Facebook page. "The main barn and the old arena were burnt down."

The several horses that did survive stayed the night in the pastures on the property, said Kristin Tallarigo, a Grace Farms client who has been getting regular updates from Leatherdale's wife and farm co-owner, Becca Leatherdale.

"They are just asking everyone to pray, and that's all we can do," Tallarigo said. "Chris and Becca are wonderful people. We are clients, but we're more like family."

Fire Chief Feist said that when he arrived at the scene, the barn and arena on the eastern side of the property "were fully involved with flames." That is where the three horses perished and the remainder were freed into a neighboring corral, he said.

The flames did not reach a newer arena and a commons building on the other side of the farm nor the residential structures on the land, the chief added.

Because there are no fire hydrants near the property, six fire tanker trucks were called in from neighboring departments so firefighters could have enough water to douse the flames, Feist said. More than five hours passed before fire officials cleared the area, he added.

The building where the fire started "is all just debris," the chief said. "It's wood construction, with hay in one corner with machinery."

Chris Leatherdale inherited his love of horses from his father, Douglas Leatherdale, the onetime CEO of St. Paul Companies who died in December at age 79. Leatherdale Farms in the Long Lake area has been operating in western Hennepin County for more than 35 years. It breeds Hanoverians, high-end riding horses often used for equestrian events in the Olympics.

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