Teen Barrel Racer Charged With Stabbing Three Horses at Las Vegas Competition
A teenage competitor allegedly stabbed three horses at a Las Vegas equestrian event early Saturday. She faces 12 animal cruelty counts and three felony property destruction charges.
Teen Arrested After Three Horses Stabbed at Las Vegas Barrel Racing Show
A teenage barrel racer is in custody after allegedly stabbing three competition horses inside a barn at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, NY Post Metro reports. The attack occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, during the 2026 NBHA Professional's Choice Vegas Super Show.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said officers responded to the 9700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South after reports of an injured horse. They found three animals with wounds consistent with a sharp object. "Investigators believe she may have used a knife to inflict multiple injuries to the horses," police stated in a news release.
The girl, whose name has not been released because she is a minor, was identified as a suspect after investigators determined she had access to the barn where the horses were stabled. Detectives tracked her to a nearby hotel, where she was taken into custody and later transported to Clark County Juvenile Hall. She was booked on 12 counts of willful or malicious killing, maiming, or torture of an animal — horse, along with three felony counts of malicious destruction of private property valued at more than $5,000.
One of the injured animals was Saaul Good, known as Sully, owned by competitor Hailey Krahenbuhl. "Sully was stabbed multiple times last night. I have no words, he is stitched up and in recovery," Krahenbuhl wrote on Facebook. She added that a second horse of hers, Foxy, narrowly avoided injury.
A third horse, a mare named Detail owned by competitor Arielle Phillips, was found wandering the barn bleeding and frightened. A veterinarian confirmed the nature of the wounds. "The vet confirmed these were perfect stab wounds; there was no way it was anything else," Phillips wrote. Photos she later posted showed deep lacerations on the horse's shoulder and chest, with blood-spattered hay visible in the stall.
Phillips described the suspect as someone who had repeatedly sent her messages asking to meet, without ever receiving a reply. According to Phillips, the girl had passed by Detail's stall twice in the hour before the attack, asking what she called "weird questions." Phillips said she left the stall at 12:02 a.m.; two minutes later, she wrote, the suspect entered and stabbed the horse six times, causing the animal to break loose and run through the barn aisles.
"Detail is traumatized. Every time she runs away from the approach of my hand, I burst into tears," Phillips wrote. "An innocent sweet horse, who only knows how to give me her ALL, was brutally tortured for no reason."
The injuries, while serious, were not life-threatening. All three horses received veterinary treatment and stitches at the barn, though the wounds are expected to keep them out of competition, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
Las Vegas competitor Cali Raymer, 17, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal she had spoken with the suspect on previous occasions. "It's kind of scary that something like that would happen here," Raymer said.
The National Barrel Horse Association addressed the incident in a Facebook statement, calling it "an isolated incident during the early morning hours of Saturday, May 30, involving the mistreatment of a limited number of equine competitors by an event competitor." The organization confirmed the suspect had been removed and placed in the custody of authorities, and said there was no ongoing threat.
A GoFundMe campaign set up to cover veterinary bills and recovery costs for the three horses had raised more than $8,000 by the time of reporting.
Source: NY Post Metro