Considering a few months ago a well known trainer - and winner of a horseman’s award - shot and killed a horse that his son was riding, there’s every reason to be concerned about horses at the showgrounds potentially being in the cross fire of a shooting.
There’s nothing about this story that would take me in another direction.
Edited to add this comment from the COTH Facebook article about the shooting:
“In Thermal California several years ago one of them [a groom] fired a gun while in a horse barn, causing the entire facility to be on lockdown until the gunman was caught.”