I know both parties. I am not surprised by Shannon’s behavior. She left her high end hunter/jumper farm towards the end of her junior years to go to be a big fish in a smaller pond. From there, she made false claims of training horses (who were already very broke school masters). She had an arrogance about her that made her lies even more immoral.
When she aged out, she went pro instantly without a lick of experience in the real world.
Cobain was a Kyle King ISH, phenomenal jumper that miss Mennen was looking to sell. She sent him to Hat Trick where Shannon claimed him as her own, using him to gain notoriety in the show ring. All this time I had assumed it was a free lease as Shannon did whatever she pleased, and it appeared to benefit Shannon more than anyone else.
It was saddening to learn that the Mennens had paid for her services, including transitioning the horse to barrel racing, which terrified him. No wonder he stopped loading the trailer.
The photos of him hanging in his stall, bloodied and lifeless with fresh scratches on the wall are very graphic, violent, and repulsive.
For a solid year, Shannon claimed that the “accidental” death was unpreventable before speculating neighbors uncovered to truth along with other horrific abuse stories.
The article only scratches the surface and I hope to God that Shannon is held accountable.
