A teenage girl competing in a barrel racing event has been arrested after allegedly stabbing three horses with a pocketknife at a barn in Las Vegas, according to police and event organizers.
Incident Details
Police responded to a report of an injured horse early Saturday morning at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, a hotel approximately 8 miles from the Las Vegas Strip that houses a large equestrian center. Officers discovered that three horses had sustained injuries, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported. Detectives from the animal cruelty division identified a 17-year-old girl, who had access to the barn, as a potential suspect. The teenager, whose identity has not been disclosed by police, was booked on 12 counts related to animal maiming and torture, along with three counts of malicious destruction of private property, confirmed police and the hotel.
Medical Treatment and Impact
The injured horses received medical attention from the on-site event veterinarian. The wounds were not life-threatening, and the animals are expected to make a full recovery. However, they will not be able to compete in the immediate future. The stabbings occurred during a barrel racing event organized by the National Barrel Horse Association, where top riders competed for substantial cash prizes. Barrel racing is a timed equestrian sport where riders navigate their horses around barrels arranged in a cloverleaf pattern.
Statements from Officials and Victims
The National Barrel Horse Association confirmed that the teenager was a participant in the Las Vegas event. In a statement to the Associated Press, South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa said, “The safety and well-being of all guests, participants and equine athletes on property is our highest priority, and we are thankful that all the horses involved are safe. In over 20 years of having over 35 equestrian events each year, no horses have ever been purposely injured by a contestant at the South Point Arena.”
Three competitors described discovering their horses with multiple stab wounds in social media posts. Arielle Phillips wrote on Facebook that she saw the suspect near the barn where her horse, Detail, was boarded just after midnight. Phillips left and returned minutes later to find the girl hosing off her horse’s bloody wounds. A veterinarian confirmed Detail had been stabbed multiple times. “She is traumatized,” Phillips wrote. “Every time she runs away from the approach of my hand, I burst into tears.”
Hailey Krahenbuhl’s horse, Saaul Good, known as “Sully,” also suffered multiple stab wounds, she posted on Facebook. The duo had been dominant in U.S. barrel racing and won first place in their division on Friday, just hours before the attack, according to the National Barrel Horse Association. Krahenbuhl earned $1,805 for that victory, per the organization’s scoreboard. A third horse named Rocket was stabbed three times, according to its owner.
