Debi Metcalfe Meets Stolen Horse, Hunter at Ohio Equine Affaire 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

It’s A Small World After All

April 15, 2005, Shelby, NC— Horse theft is a flourishing occupation that preys on unsuspecting owners. One study estimated that as many as 40,000 horses are stolen annually in the United States.

Debi Metcalfe, founder of Stolen Horse International, Inc. (SHI), returned this week from another of her many speaking engagements. She met victims of theft and volunteers of the SHI NetPosse, which is essential to Metcalfe. This trip offered something even more impressive.

Great things happen at the Ohio Equine Affaire in Columbus, Ohio. Indeed, it did on Thursday, April 7, 2005. While attending the main event, Metcalfe noticed a white horse in the Quadrille performance that looked familiar. She immediately recognized the white horse in the Noble Horse Farm Theater exhibition as Hunter, a Lipizzan/Quarter Horse stallion worth up to $75,000, recovered after being taken from a Chicago stable in August 2003.

“Chills ran through my body,” Metcalfe said. “I didn’t have my glasses, so I was unable to read the program. I didn’t know the group's name before me, but I knew the horse.”

Hunter, one of the historic 19th-century riding show stars, performs at Noble Horse Theater in Chicago. The show is an exceptional combination of visual art, music, drama, and dance, featuring splendid precision riding and breathtaking acrobatics of horses and riders worldwide. One can’t help but think what would have happened to the star if Dan Sampson and Laura Steffee had not contacted SHI after Hunter’s theft.

Almost two years ago, an employee of the Noble Horse Stables said he saw two men with a truck and a trailer near the stable early on Thursday morning. The employee did not notice that Hunter was missing until later. Police said employees at first thought someone was returning a horse.

Acting on a tip received via news media attention Stolen Horse International created from phone calls and press releases, Sampson, police, and other stable workers recovered Hunter from a stable in Elburn three days later. Dan Sampson said the alleged thief disguised the horse by cutting off its mane.

Friday, Debi Metcalfe met with Hunter and Dan Sampson in the Ohio Equine Affaire horse complex, an extraordinary treat for the founder of Stolen Horse International.

“SHI is an Internet company that works with NetPosse volunteers and victims via the Internet. I see pictures of the horses, talk to victims on the phone, and feel I know them. It is rare that I meet a victim and even rarer to meet the horse once recovered. The surprise of seeing Hunter and meeting him later was a treat beyond words.” Metcalfe said. “This just proves it is a small world after all.”

Stolen Horse International, Inc
PO Box 1341, Shelby, NC 28151
E-Mail: info@netposse.com or Web site: www.netposse.org or www.netposse.com 
Photos available upon request in 72 or 300 dpi format by internet mail

Contact owners of Hunter:
Dan: Noblehorse1@netzero.com
Laura: borderfoxfarm@aol.com

Since its inception in 1998, Stolen Horse International, Inc. (SHI), home to the most extensive, most in-depth, and detailed website with stolen horse listings resources and recovery methods, is growing by leaps and bounds. The website has received approximately 4 million hits since the end of October 2004. Stolen Horse International, a nonprofit organization, has attracted horse enthusiasts across the globe and has brought them together for a common cause: support for victims of theft during the recovery process.

* "One source says 40,000 to 55,000 are stolen each year." - These numbers are based on a study done in the late 90's. There are no current numbers available.