October 27, 2015 
Imagine you just imported a new Grand Prix horse from Europe. You go to work excited about your new prospect and are alerted that he’s missing from his stall. A quick search of the grounds reveals nothing until you spot a broken fence in a remote paddock bordered by trees. You send a staff member to investigate and discover a gruesome scene straight out of a horror movie. A horse carcass—professionally butchered.
That bizarre and horrifying story is the reality professional show jumper Debbie Stephens found herself in last Sunday morning. A longstanding member of the United States Equestrian Team, Stephens runs Centennial Farm, within Imperial Farms Equestrian Center, in Palmetto, Florida. The horse, Phedras de Blondel, was a 12-year-old chestnut gelding with a proven track record in Europe. He had arrived at Stephens’ farm on Friday. By Sunday morning, he was found dismembered.
Officials believe the incident is related to the black market horse meat trade in Florida. The slaughter of horses for human consumption has been illegal in the United States since 2007. That has not stopped enterprising criminals from setting up an elaborate ring of illegal slaughterhouses in the state. Earlier this month, Palm Beach law enforcement raided three farms in the greater Wellington area that were allegedly slaughtering horses, among other animals.
This is the first known incident of a show horse from a well recognized stable being targeted. Phedras was one of 36 horses on the 31-acre property. The farm is home to 16 individuals and equipped with video surveillance. According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s, sometime between 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m Sunday, the horse was taken from his stall and led to a remote paddock where he was stabbed with a knife in the right ribs, puncturing the aorta, and then butchered. It’s believed the horse was selected for his weight, an estimated 1,500 pounds.
“He had been filleted,” Stephens told the New York Times in a telephone interview on Monday. “The slices were so deliberate and so well done that the moment you saw it: This was a professional.”
As the second horse-butchering crime to stun Florida in as many weeks, the local equestrian community has banded together in an effort to help catch the responsible parties. A Go Fund Me campaign was launched on Sunday to collect reward money for tips leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators. As of Tuesday morning, it has raised $30,310, already exceeding its $30,000 goal. Actor William Shatner reportedly contributed $5000 to the fund.
A fledgling neighborhood watch program is also in the works. With the mass influx of horses scheduled to arrive in South Florida over the coming months for the winter show circuits, security is at the forefront of the community’s mind.
Individuals with information on the death of Phedras or illegal horse slaughter in Florida should contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-634-TIPS (8477).
