Kelsey Lefever
Pennsylvania horse trainer and riding instructor Kelsey Lefever is facing felony charges for allegedly misleading horse owners about her plans for their retired racehorses.
Lefever utilized her connections at Penn National to obtain retired racehorses from those looking for second homes and new careers for their retired racehorses. Lefever allegedly told owners that she retrained thoroughbreds to be sports horses and had a partner with an “excellent facility.” She also committed that she would never send any horse to be slaughtered, according to court records.
Authorities state Lefever admits in a drunken call to sending more than a hundred horses to a slaughter buyer.
“I killed every one of those f–g horses, over 120 of them, if they only knew. I only have five left and the ones that you have. Every one of them is dead. I don’t even know their names and there wasn’t a g—-n thing they could do about it because they gave me those horses. I didn’t sign one contract for any of them and there is no paper trail from Bruce [Rotz], so they have to prove it.”
Lefever is charged with deceptive business practices and theft by deception in connection with the deaths of four horses. A horse slaughter shipper transported the ill-fated retired Thoroughbreds Beau Jaques, Magickylie, Marek’s Czech, and Lion R Ess VP to Canada, where they were slaughtered for their meat for the international market.
Lefever, who was hired at Great Scott Farm in late 2011, was fired from her position when information regarding the case became public. In a written statement, the farm says, “We do not support her actions and she was immediately dismissed from her position today as an instructor upon us learning of her activities. We are a family business and try hard to have a positive atmosphere for kids to learn horsemanship in, and we only sell horses to approved homes, never at auction. Please be aware that we have taken immediate action to remove her from our facility and we apologize for any concerns it may cause.”
Lefever will be in court in February for a preliminary hearing.
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