Jackie McConnell Sentenced to Serve Three Years’ Probation for Violations of the Federal Horse Protection Act

CHATTANOOGA, TN—Jackie L. McConnell, 60,of Collierville, Tennessee, was sentenced today, September 18, 2012, by theHonorable Harry S. Mattice, U.S. District Judge, to serve three years onprobation, during which time he is required to report any ownership orinteraction with horses; pay a fine in the amount of $75,000; and perform 300hours of public service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Additionally, hewas ordered by the court to write and publish an article on horse soringpractices, including the effects on the horses, the different methods ofsoring, and how widespread it is in the industry.
McConnell pleaded guilty in May 2012 tocharges contained in a federal indictment relating to conspiracy to violate theHorse Protection Act. In addition to his term of probation, the trailerMcConnell owned and used to transport the sored horses was forfeited to theUnited States as part of the plea agreement.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutescases and enforces the law as it is written. As presently constituted, thedefendant’s acts of soring the horses are not themselves federal crimes. Theyare misdemeanors under state animal cruelty laws. The defendant committedfederal misdemeanor offenses when he conspired to transport the sored horsesand enter them into nationwide competitions. He committed federal felonyoffenses when he instructed others to falsify horses’ entry paperwork at theshows to indicate that someone other than the defendant was the actual trainerof a horse. He did this to shield himself from scrutiny as a result of havingbeen disqualified from training and entering horses into competition byadministrative sanctions of the USDA. This five-year administrativedisqualification stemmed from the defendant’s numerous previous violations ofthe Horse Protection Act,” said U.S. Attorney William C. Killian.
In his plea agreement on file with theU.S. District Court in Chattanooga, McConnell admitted to conspiring withothers to violate the Horse Protection Act in various ways. At all timesrelevant to the charges in the indictment, he was on suspension from enteringhorses into shows. Nevertheless, he continued to train horses by soring,transporting, entering, and showing them at horse shows while on suspension. Hetrained horses using illegal soring methods such as the application of bannedchemicals to the horses’ pasterns, which caused painful burning to their legs.McConnell then arranged for them to be taken to the shows, where he stayed onthe grounds outside the warm-up areas, as required due to his disqualifiedstatus, and directed others how to show the horse. At the shows, he submittedentry paperwork which falsely stated that someone else was the trainer of thesored horses. He took steps to camouflage the damage to the horses byinstructing others to apply magic markers and other masking devices to thehorses’ legs prior to inspection. Additional information regarding this case iscontained in the United States’ Sentencing Memorandum on file with the U.S.District Court.
The case arose from an undercoverinvestigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States, whichresulted in the creation of evidence instrumental to the case. The USDA Officeof Inspector General and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted thefollow-up investigation, including the execution of search warrants atMcConnell’s temporary stables in Shelbyville and his barn in Colliervilleduring the 2011 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Assistant U.S.Attorneys Steven S. Neff and M. Kent Anderson represented the United States.
U.S. Attorney Killian commended SpecialAgent Julie McMillan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, for her initiative,persistence, and diligence in investigating and highlighting this problem tothe U.S. Attorney’s Office. Her performance and the excellent work of AssistantU.S. Attorneys Steve Neff and Kent Anderson, he said, resulted in thisconviction, sentence, and forfeiture. “We will continue to investigate andprosecute cases involving violations of the Horse Protection Act as we do inother areas of federal law. The impact in these cases has been far beyond anylevel that we might have imagined,” added U.S. Attorney Killian.