Barrel racers whose horses suffered stab wounds so serious that they were forced to sit out of a weekend competition in Las Vegas recounted the moment a ‘crazy obsessed stalker’ teen girl attacked their animals inside the barn. 

In the early hours of Saturday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police responded to a report that a horse was injured at a barn on the 9700 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard, where the NBHA Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show was being hosted. 

When officers arrived, they learned that two additional horses had also ‘been intentionally injured with a sharp object,’ according to Las Vegas police.

Detectives quickly identified a teenage girl who was competing in the event as the main suspect. The girl, who has not been publicly identified as she is a minor, had access to the barn, and ‘may have used a knife’ to commit the stabbings, police said.

She was arrested at a nearby hotel and booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of malicious intent to maim or kill an animal and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000.

Police said the injuries were not life-threatening but were expected to prevent the horses from competing. Indeed, the three horses that were stabbed did not participate in the race. 

The affected competitors, Arielle Phillips, Keira Weisbart and Hailey Krahenbuhl, discussed the terrifying attacks on their beloved horses Detail, Rocket and Sully. 

Phillips shared the most in-depth account of what happened and said the suspect had spoken to her and was acting suspiciously in the hours before Detail was stabbed six times. 

Arielle Phillips’s and two other competitors’ horses were stabbed in the early hours of Saturday while waiting to compete in the NBHA Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show

Phillips’s horse, Detail, was stabbed six times. She shared these photos of the animal’s injuries. Police arrested a teenage girl who was slated to compete in the event

Phillips said that her mare recoiled from her when she put out her hand to comfort the horse, which indicated that a person was responsible for the injuries

The competitor said on Facebook that she knew of the teenager because the girl ‘has been following me on social media for a long time, obsessing over Detail, obsessing over meeting me.’ Phillips claimed the teen was ‘a crazy obsessed stalker.’ 

Phillips said that at 11pm on Friday, she was sitting with Detail in the mare’s stall for an hour, during which the teenager came by twice asking ‘weird questions,’ which was strange because she was boarded in a different barn. 

She recounted leaving at 12.02am and said that two minutes later, ‘this psychopath went in and brutally stabbed [Detail] 6 times,’ adding that surveillance footage caught the teen entering the barn at that 12.04am. 

Phillips said the mare’s injuries caused it ‘to go frantic and get loose, taking off thru [sic] the barn aisles, blood pouring everywhere.’

The competitor claimed that the teenager made up a story about finding the horse with its stall open and that the animal had cut itself. 

Phillips said she knew that was a lie because Detail recoiled when she put out her hand to comfort the horse. 

‘This mare who loves and trusts me with her life, jumped away in fear as I reached my hand out. My blood boiled in that moment. This was a human attack,’ Phillips said. 

She added that once the wounds were cleaned, ‘the vet confirmed these were perfect stab wounds, there was no way it was anything else.’ 

Phillips recently posted this photo embracing her mare, Detail, and said the animal is recovering

Keira Weisbart, another competitor whose horse was attacked, shared this photo of a veterinarian stitching up her horse, Rocket, who was stabbed three times

Phillips said that surveillance footage also captured the teenager entering the barn where Sully, another one of the horses stabbed that night, was staying.

The competitor said that Detail ‘is traumatized. Every time she runs away from the approach of my hand, I burst into tears.’

‘This is my best friend. An innocent sweet horse, who only knows how to give me her ALL was brutally tortured for no reason,’ Phillips said. 

In her most recent Facebook post, Phillips shared a photo of herself hugging her mare and said the animal is recovering. ‘The hug I’ve been waiting for. My sweet Detail is slowly coming back to me,’ she wrote. 

Weisbart, one of the other competitors whose horse was attacked, shared a post on Facebook that said: ‘Rocket was stabbed three times, and had attempted stab attempts around his body.’

‘He is okay and stitched up and will make a full recovery… I pray for every other horse involved. The person who did this disgusting thing is in custody. Thank you for all the prayers and love I have received.’

Krahenbuhl, the third competitor, shared a post that said: ‘Sully was stabbed multiple times last night. I have no words, he is stitched up and in recovery. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, prayers are appreciated.’

NBHA Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show began on Friday and ran through Sunday. Barrel racing is a rodeo event where horse riders complete a timed ‘cloverleaf’ pattern around three barrels.

Hailey Krahenbuhl, the third affected competitor, said her horse, Sully, was ‘stabbed multiple times’ and that she has ‘no words’ 

Weisbart is pictured atop a horse in 2024. She said that Rocket (not pictured) is expected to make a full recovery

A GoFundMe to help pay for the affected competitors’ veterinary bills said: ‘These horses are more than just animals. They are partners, family, and a huge part of their lives. What happened was heartbreaking and completely undeserved.’ 

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police referred the Daily Mail to its press release when approached for comment. The Daily Mail has also reached out to NBHA for comment, as well as the three racers targeted by the teen attacker.