Teenage Competitor Arrested After Allegedly Stabbing 3 Horses at Las Vegas Barrel Racing Championship
Three horses set to compete at a national barrel racing championship in Las Vegas were stabbed with a knife in the early hours of Saturday morning — and the suspect arrested was a teenage competitor at the same event.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police received a call at approximately 2:07 a.m. Saturday reporting an injured horse at a barn near the South Point Casino and Hotel at 9777 Las Vegas Boulevard South. Officers arrived to find three horses that had been intentionally injured with a sharp object. The Metro Animal Cruelty Section was called in to investigate.
Detectives identified a teenage girl as the suspect based on her access to the barn. She was located at a nearby hotel, taken into custody, and booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall.
She faces 12 counts of willful or malicious killing, maiming, or torturing of an animal — and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property valued over $5,000 each.
The Event
The horses were scheduled to compete in the 2026 NBHA Professional's Choice Vegas Super Show — a National Barrel Horse Association event that began Friday and runs through Sunday at the South Point Arena and Equestrian Center. Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which horse and rider complete a cloverleaf pattern around barrels for time. Competitors travel from across the country to participate in NBHA national shows.
None of the three horses' injuries were considered life-threatening, but all three were pulled from competition as a result of their wounds.
The NBHA acknowledged the incident in a statement posted to its Facebook page, describing it as "the mistreatment of a limited number of equine athletes by an event competitor" and asking for "respect and consideration for all involved."
The South Point Casino also issued a statement: "The safety and well-being of all guests, participants, and equine athletes on property is our highest priority and we are thankful to report all of the horses involved are safe. We want to thank the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the NBHA for their immediate response to this incident, and the South Point is fully cooperating with the LVMPD as it conducts its investigation."
A Competition That Turned Criminal
The detail that has drawn the most attention online is that the suspect is a competitor — not a stranger or a trespasser, but someone who was already part of the event and had legitimate access to the barn. Investigators believe she used that access to enter the barn in the middle of the night and inflict the injuries.
No motive has been publicly announced. The teen's identity has not been released because she is a juvenile. The investigation is ongoing.
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