Every summer in a field on the outskirts of a small Leicestershire village, a menagerie of horses, ponies and dogs competes for an array of colourful rosettes.
As well as show-jumping and obedience competitions, there are prizes for fancy dress and for the canine that proves to be the best ‘sausage catcher’ – a bit of light-hearted fun for country folk and their four-legged friends.
But this year’s get-together is set to be overshadowed by the fallout of a controversial court case that yesterday saw one of the event’s organisers cleared of animal cruelty.
Appearing at Lincoln Crown Court, Sarah Moulds was dramatically found not guilty of causing suffering to her horse, Bruce Almighty.
The incident was caught on camera in November 2021 when the 39-year-old was out with the Cottesmore Hunt, one of the oldest fox hunts in the country. The footage showed the mother-of-three kicking the grey pony in its chest and then slapping it across the head four times.
Sarah Moulds (pictured with husband Dan) was dramatically found not guilty of causing suffering to her horse, Bruce Almighty
Sarah Moulds could be seen taking her boot to the horse, a child’s pony called Bruce Almighty
The footage showed the mother-of-three kicking the grey pony in its chest and then slapping it across the head four times
The RSPCA, which brought the prosecution, argued that her actions would have caused the 12-year-old horse ‘fear, distress and psychological suffering’.
But Mrs Moulds claimed she had acted because Bruce had broken free from a child and needed to be disciplined. She also insisted she had not hurt him.
Given the jury’s decision yesterday, some might assume that would be the end of the matter. But Mrs Moulds has already been severely ‘punished’ – and will no doubt suffer more of the same.
Because, after the footage filmed by Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs was shared on social media, Mrs Moulds and her family were bombarded with death threats and messages of hate.
At one stage they were forced to move out of their home and receive police protection. When it emerged Mrs Moulds worked as a teacher at her local primary school in Somerby, near Melton Mowbray, she was suspended, then sacked from her job. The Pony Club, where she volunteered as a team leader, also dismissed her.
Breaking down in tears, she told the court her life had been ‘torn to pieces’, causing ‘irreversible’ damage.
Following her acquittal, she released a strongly worded statement attacking her vilification online – and the RSPCA’s decision to prosecute her.
‘A snippet of video was taken out of context and manipulated to paint a picture of me that is entirely at odds with who I am,’ she said.
‘I adore my animals and have dedicated my life to teaching and nurturing young minds. It was heart-wrenching to be so wrongly and publicly maligned.
‘The loss of my career, the hand-delivered death threats to me and my children, and the distress caused to my family cannot be undone.
‘My loved ones have had to watch powerlessly as our life has unravelled based on falsehoods.’
As for the animal charity, she said that at no point had it ever asked to examine Bruce, either to check him for injuries or to see how well looked after he was.
Sarah Moulds choked back tears, flanked by friends and family, as she thanked the jury for clearing her of an animal cruelty charge after she was filmed striking a horse in 2021. She was then hugged by husband Dan (in the red tie) after finishing her statement
‘They [the RSPCA] have been pressured to be seen to be ‘doing something’ by online bullies and ill-informed high profile individuals, wasting a phenomenal amount of public donations to bring a politically charged case,’ she said.
After the footage came to light, wildlife campaigner Chris Packham called on the charity to ‘urgently investigate and definitively prosecute this appalling abuse’.
But the online reaction to Mrs Moulds’s acquittal suggests her words are unlikely to convince her critics.
One message posted online says: ‘Sarah Moulds should be in jail. White upper-class privilege is alive and kicking’. A second reads: ‘It’s sick she got away with this – scum of the earth.’
A source with links to hunts across the country said: ‘Social media has galvanised the saboteurs. Any business or person that happens to be linked to a hunt will be targeted; they will get social media abuse, they will get letters.
‘They are relentless. They are being ambushed from every side.’
Having first taken to the saddle aged four, Mrs Moulds now owns four horses, including child’s pony Bruce, who stands 13 hands high.
On the day of the controversial incident, Bruce was being ridden by a child with the Cottesmore. The jury heard two ponies had been left with two children next to Mrs Moulds’s horse box when Bruce ran into the road with a child still holding his rope.
Mrs Moulds told the child to let go and then caught Bruce who she immediately chastised.
Giving evidence for the prosecution, equine veterinary surgeon Suzanne Green said Mrs Moulds’s behaviour towards Bruce ‘was not proportionate or appropriate’. She said that as a ‘prey animal’, the instinct of the horse would have been to flee.
‘He can’t do that because she has tightly got hold of the lead rope,’ she told the court. ‘You can see on the horse’s face when she hits that horse… it is being caused fear. That horse has nowhere to go, he is not fighting back, he is not hurting her.’
In her defence, Mrs Moulds claimed the situation she found herself in meant it was ‘necessary’ to act as she had done.
‘If Bruce becomes a dangerous pony he cannot continue his idyllic life with us,’ she said. ‘In that moment he had done something incredibly dangerous, and in that moment I decided to discipline him. We have seen it slowed down in milliseconds, but in reality it was four seconds.
‘There was minimal contact and no pain to my hand. Four seconds does not define a relationship between an owner and a horse.
‘The purpose was to briefly shock him, to make him think: ‘That was not a good idea to run away from my human’.’
Having been suspended from her job, Mrs Moulds was sacked by the Mowbray Education Trust in December 2021. The decision attracted criticism with some saying the incident was ‘unrelated to teaching’. Given her acquittal yesterday, it is unclear whether she could now be given her job back.
Mrs Moulds has thanked those who supported her during her case, adding: ‘All my family and I wish for now is to rebuild our lives and move forward.’