Dressage trainer killed

While this woman was pretty terrible, she died. Someone lost their friend, their mom, their daughter. (Not sure what her family connections are) That is sad, people. That is not a time to talk about karma and that ‘she deserved’ it. She did not deserve it. Was she a bad person? Maybe. Did she deserve to die because of that? No. Show a little class, COTH.

[QUOTE=belgianWBLuver;8239791]
http://equnews.com/miscellaneous/christine-wells-dies-after-being-kicked-by-a-horse/

Karma baby!!![/QUOTE]

After watching that video she deserved to get kicked in the head.

[QUOTE=Gloria;8240073]
Poetic justice. I won’t shed a tear for her.

OK. I will say it: I’m going to toast to that horse.[/QUOTE]

This sentiment and others posted here are a prime example of the disconnect from life, as a human in the real world, and “life” on the internet when one is spouting off behind a computer screen.

The normal, decent filter,that educated and thoughtful people possess, which facing other people IRL tends to encourage, and which makes intelligent human beings THINK before they blurt out such repulsive glee at another persons death (even when your psyche feels they had it coming) is absent (online) for some folks.

Beating a horse is a horrible behavior. Publicly REJOICING in the death of any person is also a disgusting and horrible behavior and unfortunately is a sign of the times (on the internet). I would never have thought I would see this type of sentiment posted on this BB. :no:

[QUOTE=skydy;8240516]
This sentiment and others posted here are a prime example of the disconnect from life, as a human in the real world, and “life” on the internet when one is spouting off behind a computer screen.

The normal, decent filter,that educated and thoughtful people possess, which facing other people IRL tends to encourage, and which makes intelligent human beings THINK before they blurt out such repulsive glee at another persons death (even when your psyche feels they had it coming) is absent (online) for some folks.

Beating a horse is a horrible behavior. Publicly REJOICING in the death of any person is also a disgusting and horrible behavior and unfortunately is a sign of the times (on the internet). I would never have thought I would see this type of sentiment posted on this BB. :no:[/QUOTE]

Back in the 1990’s whilst grooming in Europe I was present working at many dressage competitions. I remember C. Wels; I remember her well… She had always practised these brutal methods. I also remember 2 other big name riders both of whom I saw schooling horses in tight side reins or tight draw reins and working them in rollkur in tight circles with either a true bend or counter bend until they were exhausted and in a total lather. I did not agree with these practises then and I do not agree with them now. Its horrible to watch that and be helpless in speaking aloud to the show authorities for risk of losing your livelihood. Back then many highly questionable practices where done out in the open schooling area and totally ignored by ring stewards or show officials. Even today, some people still get away with it…

I will not mention the two rider’s names as they are alive and well-known riders on today’s show circuit. Did those pratises work for them? Apparently. Obviously.

But I vowed NEVER to work for them and to always remember to avoid them in the future. They have both been exposed in various articles and videos over the years.

So, Karma baby!

[QUOTE=skydy;8240516]
This sentiment and others posted here are a prime example of the disconnect from life, as a human in the real world, and “life” on the internet when one is spouting off behind a computer screen.

The normal, decent filter,that educated and thoughtful people possess, which facing other people IRL tends to encourage, and which makes intelligent human beings THINK before they blurt out such repulsive glee at another persons death (even when your psyche feels they had it coming) is absent (online) for some folks.

Beating a horse is a horrible behavior. Publicly REJOICING in the death of any person is also a disgusting and horrible behavior and unfortunately is a sign of the times (on the internet). I would never have thought I would see this type of sentiment posted on this BB. :no:[/QUOTE]

Rejoicing in her death? I think you are confused. What is being rejoiced is this disgusting person will never lay her hands on another animal again.

And that is cause for celebration.

There are plenty of compassion around - for the victims, not the perpetrator.

You need to get out to the REAL WORLD.

[QUOTE=Gloria;8240834]
Rejoicing in her death? I think you are confused. What is being rejoiced is this disgusting person will never lay her hands on another animal again.

And that is cause for celebration.

There are plenty of compassion around - for the victims, not the perpetrator.

You need to get out to the REAL WORLD.[/QUOTE]

I’m with Skydy.

Clearly, abuse is awful and disgusting, and any action that results in the end of abuse should be examined and exalted. But a person died. That’s a pretty profound and inexorable result. It’s not like she got sent to jail (which I would be cheering for) or injured as a result of her practices - she is dead and is not coming back. I find it callous and incredibly short-sighted to be crowing with jubilance that she was killed… she may have been awful to her horses but for the people who loved or knew her, reading these comments is probably heart-breaking. Show some class.

You don’t believe a person who treats an animal that way is “nice” to any others, do you? What makes you think they are not toasting with me in secret?

She already broke everyone’s heart, by treating horses that way. She abused the trust of her clients. She abused the nature of those placed under the powers of her hands. Do you not think that kind of video out there is breaking the hearts of those people who know her?

So yeah, you can call me classless. I am going to side with the victims. That is more classy than weeping over an abuser.

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[QUOTE=Gloria;8240877]
You don’t believe a person who treats an animal that way is “nice” to any others, do you? What makes you think they are not toasting with me in secret?

She already broke everyone’s heart, by treating horses that way. She abused the trust of her clients. She abused the nature of those placed under the powers of her hands. Do you not think that kind of video out there is breaking the hearts of those people who know her?

So yeah, you can call me classless. I am going to side with the victims. That is more classy than weeping over an abuser.[/QUOTE]

No one here is weeping over the loss of an abuser. We are weeping over your loss of tact and compassion.

The woman who died was still a daughter, a mother, a relative, a someone to somebody else. And while animal abusers may be linked to other forms of abuse, it is not always the case… she was still a fellow human being and now she is dead and you could show a little respect for the bereaved.

she was still a fellow human being and now she is dead and you could show a little respect for the bereaved.

I have a lot of respect for the bereaved. I feel awful for her family, for the friends that she had. It is always an awful thing to lose someone that way (or in any way), and I commiserate with them.

I have no respect for her. I’m pretty young, but I come from the school which says that respect must be earned. It isn’t an automatic right. She lost all my respect with her horrific treatment of her animals. With the tactics she was using, I am honestly surprised she was not killed sooner (those hooves were flying pretty close to her face). I don’t rejoice in her dying because her family must be shattered. But I do rejoice that she will never hurt a horse again, and I honestly think she got what she deserved. She clearly never gave up those awful tactics, and in the end (after previously jailing her) they killed her. She would still be alive if she could have practiced some respect for her animals, so as sad as I am for her family, I’m not particularly sad for her.

1 Like

I have a lifelong friend whose second husband mentally and physically abused her for several years. He was a tool of the highest order- cruel to her dogs, cruel to her family, hateful and pissy to her friends. Her berated her for her weight, made her watch sleazy porn and made her perform what she saw- nothing was ever good enough. She is a college-educated woman from a good, solid middle class family. He was a part time bartender with no close family and no aspirations beyond the infield at Daytona. When she finally got the courage to leave him, she had to file restraining orders against him to keep him from harassing her - at work, at home. etc. He was horrible on all levels.

So when he choked to death (on his own vomit) about a year post-divorce, at the beach for a boy’s weekend, my first words were ‘Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.’

She kept begging for consequences, this trainer. She got what she wanted.

I hear the folks that feel sorry for the loss of life. I don’t even believe in the death penalty. However, if someone dies in the act of committing a brutal crime I feel no empathy for them, it is karma. Her beating a horse IS A CRIME, and being killed while committing that crime is her own fault.

I do feel bad for her family, but frankly if that was my sister, my mother, my aunt I would be ashamed that my relative was beating a horse that badly. And she certainly would not have been a friend of mine (at least knowingly). I would not grieve their loss in the same way as the death of a kind loved one.

For me anyone that beats anything within their power, be it child, animal or adult, into submission is the lowest of the low.

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Has anyone actually found a source that said she was kicked while lunging a horse in the manner shown in the video (that I think is several years old?)

My understanding was just that she died of a kick to the head–which could have happened accidentally under many circumstances, including the horseandhound link of another rider’s death in the same manner.

This is from St-Georg.de; please excuse the translation, it was run through Google Translate. I’ve edited it a bit to make it more readable, but just a few words here and there. Apparently, she was in the middle of training a horse on the ground when it happened, and was maybe about to be brought back to court?

Christine Wels was kicked in the ground work of a horse and so severely affected that she did not survive.

2007 reported ST.GEORG on the former World Cup finalist Christine Wels, who provided various stables around Hamburg with animal-tormenting training methods. Wels was then arrested and sentenced by the regional court in Kiel.

From Northern Germany and Denmark she had shifted her activities later into the Rhineland, and was misbehaving in different stables. Most recently, she had housed the horses of her customers in a barn near Bonn, where she was reported by a dedicated vet who asked not to be named. This vet photographed open flanks and scarred welts on the hindquarters of the horses. [He also watched her] at work with their horses - the horses were tied and repeatedly beaten with spurs and whip, and if they made a false step, there were beatings. In the accident itself, Wels worked the affected horse from the ground. This is then probably increased, reports the vet. What exactly happened after that is unclear. Eyewitnesses have reported that they had seen her a second before and the next moment Wels would have been already on the ground. [She] exhibited serious head injuries.

The vet has the ad withdrawn after it was clear that Christine Wels did not survive the accident. Completed the case is thus for them but not yet, "I wonder why that could happen to all this? Why no one has looked at the horses on the show? The methods of the woman were known. Why has the FN since not looked more closely? Why the owners have looked the other way? "

Karma’s a b-word, that’s for sure. And she was asking for it.

I think a moderator should probably delete this thread. I would hate for a family member to see their dead family member (No matter how terrible that person was) bashed on in a public forum. If this was real life, and her daughter walked by as you were saying these things, how would you feel? You would feel terrible. Because no matter what terrible things she did, she was loved by someone out there.

I would hate for a family member to see their dead family member (No matter how terrible that person was) bashed on in a public forum. If this was real life, and her daughter walked by as you were saying these things, how would you feel? You would feel terrible. Because no matter what terrible things she did, she was loved by someone out there.

That’s true, but that news is spread around. If you look her up, you’re going to find the news about her death, about what she did, and what people’s opinions of her and her death are. Unfortunately, for her friends and family it is pretty inescapable, and a matter of public record. I’m sure someone loved her, and I feel awful for them, but deleting this thread won’t let them avoid comments made about her.

For a person to do those alleged things to a horse, might we ask ourselves, “what had been done to her to cause her to repeat such abuse?” Consequences happen, and many saintly people are injured/killed while NOT torturing their horse. Her death by a kick was a consequence of the situation.

She didn’t ‘deserve’ to die; she died. What seems more sad is that perhaps no one got in her way to try to stop and help her? Sure, sure, you have to want to get help to be helped blah blah blah. But if so many people witnessed this escalation of violence and abuse, and no one really stopped her? That seems more saddening to me. It was ok to watch and talk about/read about, but I’m curious to know what was done to interrupt her cycle of violence. She was charged, and reported? But it doesn’t seem like she truly got the help she exhibited she needed. (Which may have been jailed/institutionalized.)

Thankfully, no horse will be harmed by her hand. But I am also going to say a prayer for how fucking tormented her heart must have been to do that in the first place - and to do it in broad daylight, which feels like a (passive?) cry for help.

Who knows? Just my thoughts for this today.

As with other professional abusive trainers, I believe the owners share in accountability. When these trainers are named & shamed the owners should be as well. It is their business to find out what goes on and it is especially their business to follow up when so much is in public knowledge. IMO.

Nothing posted in this thread, and nothing deleted, will change the reputation this woman created for herself over the years.

I find much of what is posted here distasteful, but I don’t find those posts or the thread as being of much importance in the grand scheme of things. The deceased woman’s relatives are going to see much of the same elsewhere. They have been seeing it during her life for many years. This is not news to them.

[QUOTE=StormyDay;8241489]
I think a moderator should probably delete this thread. I would hate for a family member to see their dead family member (No matter how terrible that person was) bashed on in a public forum. If this was real life, and her daughter walked by as you were saying these things, how would you feel? You would feel terrible. Because no matter what terrible things she did, she was loved by someone out there.[/QUOTE]

That ship is already sailed. Her daughter will always carry the same scar as the daughters of notorious serial killers. She can either feel relieved, for I cannot imagine such violence not being extended to her, or she can feel ashamed, for having such a mother. Either way, people talking about the woman dying in the hand (or hooves) of the victims will not spare the daughter of hurt. I know if I were her daughter, I would be extremely ashamed for having such a monster as a mother, and I would be relieved that no violence would ever be committed by her ever again. The feeling of relief is perhaps not something you can understand.

There are assigned punishments for those who are found to, or convicted of, abusing. Death is not one of them.

If there was indeed abuse it is unfortunate that actions were not taken to halt it, and prevent it from happening again. Horses and a human life could have been spared.

Comments about her death being good, deserved, etc are callous and unnecessary. IMO.