Equine Protection Network
www.equineprotectionnetwork.com
March 4, 2003
EPN Awarded Horse in Cruelty Hearing
Stolen Horses Recovered!
Remember to shop at IGive.com & support the EPN!
Or shop our online store:
http://www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/book.htm
EPN Sanctuary Program
We are in urgent need of donations to help these 2 horses!
Triple 8's
Triple 8's, a grade horse estimated to be over 25 years of age with
a Henneke Body Score of 1.5 was offered for sale illegally at a PA
horse auction in October 2002. The owner was found guilty after a
court hearing and the EPN was awarded Triple 8's. Although Triple
8's has just secured a monthly sponsor, we are still in desperate
need of donations to cover the cost of his medical bills and daily
care during the 4 months he was held as evidence in this criminal
investigation. In addition the EPN incurred additional costs during
the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the
owner by the PA State Police.
FLASH!
We learned at the Horse World Expo in Harrisburg, PA from Triple 8's
former owners, that his real name is, Chip Off the Rock by Rocket
Wrangler!
That makes him a half brother to the legendary Dash For Cash!
Needless to say they were shocked to learn of his fate.
Last they heard he was in a good home!
Remember, only you can protect your horse from abuse, neglect &
slaughter.
http://www.qhd.com/stallion.asp?id=2913
Stallion Show Record
World Champion, '70 RC 2 yr old
Superior Performance, '73 RC
Race money-earner, $252,168
ROM Performance, '70 RC
Rocket Wrangler (SI 97)
1970 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt
All American Futurity Winner
Sire of Dash for Cash (SI 114)
http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/~users/leyw/vcs_web/leyhome/RW.htm
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http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/monday/news_e326
6e430439b024008a.html
Vet arrested for horse theft
By Thomas R. Collins, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 3, 2003
WELLINGTON -- Palm Beach County deputies have recovered three
valuable horses and arrested a veterinarian who frequented village
equestrian events -- charging her as a horse thief.
Among the horses recovered was San Diego, a treasured Oldenburg dark
gray gelding who vanished from his Saddle Trail paddock Jan. 22.
Arrested and charged with San Diego's theft was Cathy Crighton, a
Chicago-area veterinarian. Detectives said she kept the stolen horse
for more than a month in a Palm Beach Point stable, and tried to
conceal its distinctive white markings by spray-painting them with
black Rustoleum.
Deputies said San Diego suffered blisters from the paint on the thin
and sensitive skin just above his nose. He could be permanently
scarred. But otherwise, the horse appeared in good shape.
"What makes it shameful is that she would paint the horses with
toxic paint," said Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John
Howley, of the animal cruelty unit.
Crighton, 44, of Palos Park, Ill., was arrested Saturday evening at
the barn where San Diego was hidden. She was held Sunday at the Palm
Beach County Jail, where she received a psychiatric evaluation.
Acquaintances described her as a troubled woman who squabbled with
her Wellington neighbors and badgered a former boyfriend.
Her arrest was particularly chilling for San Diego's co-owner and
trainer, who said she stopped by to offer her condolences after a
reward was posted for his return.
"She stopped here the day after he was stolen and asked me all kinds
of questions and told me how bad she felt," said Ron Esposito. "I
thought she was just a concerned neighbor. She was really trying to
find out what she had stolen."
He now suspects she was trying to find out how much San Diego was
worth. Esposito valued the horse at more than $500,000.
In Wellington for the polo and jumping season, Crighton lived at
13515 Fountainview Blvd. and drove a white Land Rover with a vanity
tag: I PLAY DR.
"She would get verbally combative," said Jon Kassel, who worked with
Crighton at an Illinois horse fair. "I just remember it being kooky."
Other horses recovered
Aside from San Diego, deputies recovered two other horses reported
stolen in the Chicago area last fall. In the same barn with San
Diego, they found Scooby Doo, a Dutch Warmblood that had disappeared
from Minooka, Ill. Another horse named Keller, a Swedish Warmblood,
had been sold to a buyer who was unaware the horse had been stolen.
Crighton's arrest was the latest episode to rock Wellington's
otherwise serene equestrian community. Little more than two weeks
ago, Meggan Morency, a 17-year-old jumper, was crushed to death when
her horse fell on her during competition at Littlewood Farms.
Crighton's undoing began when she was spotted spraying San Diego
with paint by the owner of the barn she was renting. Deputies did
not identify the owner.
"He saw her painting the horse's legs and thought she was crazy,"
Esposito said.
When asked what she was doing, she allegedly told the owner it was a
medical treatment. Still suspicious, the barn owner noted the
Oldenburg crest branded on San Diego's left flank -- and sketched it
on a napkin.
San Diego's disappearance had been well publicized. It was posted on
a Web site called netposse.com, a national clearinghouse that keeps
track of stolen horses. Some 40,000 are reported stolen nationally
each year.
The barn owner took the napkin to Esposito, who recognized it
immediately and called the sheriff.
A trap was set for Crighton. Esposito said the barn owner called and
advised her that one of her horses was sick. She was led away in
handcuffs without making a fuss.
Sandy Boston, Scooby Doo's owner, was stunned to hear that Crighton
might have something to do with her horse's theft. She said Crighton
was the veterinarian at the barn where Scooby Doo was kept. She
described her reputation as "radical" and said she had even been
barred from some barns in that part of Illinois. Once, about seven
years ago, she gave a "very exaggerated diagnosis" of Scooby Doo
that was discredited by other vets.
Wellington resident Neal Shapiro, who had a three-year romantic
relationship with Crighton before breaking it off recently, said she
portrayed herself as a top-drawer horse doctor who cared for million-
dollar steeds. In a 1999 newspaper interview in Illinois, Crighton
said she served on a medical committee at the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta. On a Web site where she gave advice on animal care, she
described her horse patients as Olympian-class jumpers.
Shapiro said he recently had filed a police complaint against
Crighton because she kept making harassing phone calls late at
night. "I told her we had nothing to talk about, stop calling me,"
Shapiro said.
Crighton's Wellington neighbor, Mitch Barsky, said he had a couple
of run-ins with her, mostly over the cramped parking in the driveway
they shared. After hearing loud voices in Barsky's home one night,
she left a note on his door saying she'd call the police next time
it happened.
Still, Barsky couldn't get over the news of her arrest.
"It's like out of Falcon Crest or something," he said.
San Diego's theft prompted owners of horses in neighboring stalls to
tighten security. Now, all the paddock gates stay locked.
Crighton's arrest was a relief to some.
"I can't imagine anybody caring for a horse or any creature at all
doing something like that," said horse owner Summers Thomas.
Staff writer Lauren Gold contributed to this story.
[email protected]
More Articles:
http://www.click10.com/mia/news/stories/news-201511820030303-
110358.html
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
Date=20030303&Category=APN&ArtNo=303030600&Ref=AR
http://www.nbc5.com/news/2014238/detail.html
http://www.wbbm780.com/asp/ViewMoreDetails.asp?ID=19709
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/030303_ns_stolenhorse.html
http://www.cbs2chicago.com/news/detail.asp?id=000470821314
Remember to shop at IGive.com & support the EPN!
Or shop our online store:
http://www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/book.htm
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