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‘He would always go too far’ - witnesses tell of horse trainer’s alleged animal abuse

 
 
November 26, 2024
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9Tzi8ywRz924XE3uHaD6DZ3Ef+IdbOiYlvIROR5vlqUeRrexTocZGobKRJ9od%2Fgnk3B%2FCeKTmTAsIjj6Q0YaYaqyrFfg3YVe37gnDHFGdUlBmOcMdaGlpAxda053CuwHfDZzJWGbXptrLKn2KePQatjaene5eYBtB3N0Dl2M7OBTiUHyJPzEIVdfO%2FfOi8%2FnucCGE%2FLQDyG5ijKfeAvix%2F9tZ7VI3YWUuEEkHpS+h5d4PwZDxln%2FDNQNwzoBLYRFTcIDoHyzHOq2xg6+48fBOfRo8DClfBmVjlmr6Ro1GO+BZTFMh03pKyzoIVEoFIQUwe2nUxndmL2efKC0Qg2iDhqreFyVh1TFsUCbIQA2hCkD5zWLk9gqrgxFodHIbyhDDt4luNq9WdSlsGw5JL1GCcQv29sLguJ8vQB2D+EfOvyrqMEIupUzFCuEY1Qs4KXT?resolution=1240x700 John Malcolm walking into the Racing Integrity Board hearing at Cambridge Raceway.Christel Yardley / Waikato Times

A former staff member who saw a trainer allegedly beat a horse, resulting in welts and a swollen eye recalls calling her grandparents crying.

Cambridge thoroughbred trainer John Malcolm is facing 12 animal welfare related charges laid by the Racing Integrity board (RIB).

The hearingat Cambridge Raceway is expected to run most of the week.

 
 
 
 

The first witness for the RIB began working for Malcolm on March 8, 2023 as a stable hand, but only stayed at the Cambridge stables for 13 days.

 

She told the hearing the first incident happened on her second day when walking past a wooden circular pen she heard Malcolm yell at his wife.

“I think he was a lunging horse and she was on the whip, and that I could hear John yelling at Rachel and telling her to whip it harder, I could hear her saying something like no, I don't want to, and he was like for F…sakes I’ll do it. …”

The woman said seeing the horse was led out of the ring was horrible.

“The horse was dripping in sweat. I saw the welts and instantly saw the swollen eye.

“I think the incident happened just before the lunch break because I remember ringing my nana and granddad and just crying and I was like ‘I cannot do this’.”

One of the country’s leading trainers was zoomed in for her assessment of the methods allegedly used during incidents at Malcolm’s stable.

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She admitted that “no trainer is perfect” but also that “it’s not necessary to thrash a horse.”

Another witness who had two stints at Malcolm’s stables said she saw him “purposely hit horses over the head with alkathene pipe.

She said that Malcolm would aim for the horse's eyes.

“There would have been 10 eye injuries to horses in the second occasion I worked for John, and there may have been more as we were always putting eye drops in horses....One horse nearly lost an eye through being hit, the vet had to work hard to save the eye.”

Malcolm’s lawyer Paul Wicks KC questioned why she didn’t report him.

“I didn’t know who to complain to.”

Another former staff member had worked for Malcolm three to four times in six month stints over a 15 year period.

“Although what he does to his horses doesn’t agree with me, I needed the money. So I just put the blinkers on.

She described how Malcolm would lose his cool with the horses, claiming that if he got angry, he'd start hitting the horse around the head.

“And if he got too angry, he'd just go past the point and beat the shit out of it.”

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She also said she’d seen the aftermath of a horse that had been flipped and hit its head.

“They were bleeding, one died through flipping it.

“It had blood coming out of its nose and ears and that was after John had been long-reining it, that would have been 13 years ago.

“Sometimes a horse would need a little bit, but he would always go too far.”

She said a lot of eye injuries were explained away.

“He would say that it's happened in the box [stable], because the boxes were wire and netting and had a lot of wire sticking out... We all knew what had actually happened.”

She explained how Malcolm would pick up a lead rope and then use the buckle to hit the horse across the head.

She admitted previously not reporting it due to being concerned about future employment opportunities.

A veterinarian with 30 years experience was called who had attended Malcolm’s stables a number of times.

The vet couldn’t recall the explanations for the injuries or if he dealt with Malcolm, his wife or staff members at the time.

Monday’s proceedings finished with the Board listening to part of Malcolm’s interview with RIB investigator Courtney Fox in June. In it, he claimed he doesn’t remember a lot of the incidents.

One he did was between May and July 2023 when working with a gelding that got loose and galloped out of the yard.

“You were heard to yell something similar to I’m going to mow that c... down, as you ran towards your vehicle and drove after the horse. You’ve caught the horse and driven into it with your ute,” Fox said on the tape.

She was told the horse, after being caught by staff, had cuts on its body, and the ute had received some damage.

Malcolm disputed what had happened.

“The horse was in the tie-up. It front-footed me, put me on the ground, and got away onto the track. I’ve taken my ute out there because it’s been going mad out on the track.”

Malcolm explained he parked his ute alongside the rail and the horse went between the vehicle and the fence.

“It’s damaged my ute and had some minor cuts and grazes on its legs, but I don’ know if we got the vet to it.”

Witnesses for the RIB will continue on Tuesday with witnesses for Malcolm to be called later in the week.

The hearing is scheduled to run until Thursday.

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