does the Virginia HJA require judges be members of the USEF?
Her cruelty conviction should get her removed from USEF
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No, they just need to be members of VHSA.
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Seems that it might be time for the association to reconsider. I suppose members could choose to not patronize shows making use of judges with questionable ethics.
But they would have to actually know about the case
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Last I checked she is no longer on the VHSA list of approved judges.
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Poofy enabled you to bring his story in front of us. We see and remember. Of course I looked back at the old article and of course I shed tears.
They are not tears of sadness, they are ones touched by grace , forgiveness ,hope and appreciation . A horse showing his character and heart.
A horsewoman doing what she does, how she can. Instilling in her son the love and appreciation for the living.
That was Poofys vindication.
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THIS THIS THIS x 
No horse could ask for a better legacy than that.
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Thank you for that. I have known many horses over the years and some of them are just in a different class. It’s hard to explain but I think most of them do what you clearly expect and require of them because they are animals and that’s what is fair, but some of them just really want to do the job and be good for the sake of being good. It’s not something you can expect or require because it’s more than what we deserve or have earned but they do it anyways. Poof was one of them.
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Sentencing today: 12 months per count, all but 20 days suspended, to be served consecutively so 100 days total. She will likely do 50 on good behavior though my husband expresses serious doubt she can manage that.
No boarding for 5 years, not sure when that starts. Financial restitution to 2 owners, not sure how those were selected, and she has to agree to allow animal control and state vet to search and seize on her property without warning.
Apparently her sister testified how much she adores horses and how cruel this all has been to her, and stated that she had an owner euthanize a horse in March, and her usual grave digger wouldn’t come due to the bad optics, so she laid crying with the horse’s body for 4 hours. The two remaining boarder horses were alive as of March to my knowledge, so either: Total fabrication, actually one of her horses, or someone brought over a horse in the middle of it all. Not sure what’s worse here.
This is a very serious sentence. I can’t help but think the judge would have liked to convict on more in her trial and let his sentencing reflect the gravity of the crime. I don’t think I have ever heard of someone receiving 100 days in jail for a first offender animal abuse case.
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Thank you for keeping us all informed!!
It seems like nothing compared to what those animals went thru.
I am glad it is something, but it still feels like nothing.
That story is just crazy and I hope the just was smart enough to realize how stupid it is. There are lots of people in the world with a backhoe who can dig a hole and bury a horse.
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Thank you for the updates!
And I am so deeply sorry to hear about Poofy. I wasn’t on the forums for the better part of the last year and missed that. How heartbreaking. But you did right by him and he went knowing love and care… and in no way did you fail him by her not getting convicted on his charge (which is criminal, by the way!).
Thank you not only for rescuing the horses, but for speaking up and speaking out for Poofy, and for all the horses abused by that awful woman - here, elsewhere, and on the stand.
I wish she was convicted on all charges and sentenced to full terms for each of them. But I am glad she was convicted and is facing real consequences for her actions when so many do not.
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