NEWS&VIEWS You Can Use Misty Manor Cruelty Case


Nichole Reinke of Sykesville was charged with 64 counts of animal cruelty on October 12 in connection with the mistreatment of 19 horses at Misty Manor Riding Riding Stable, according to Carroll County Circuit Court documents. Charging documents allege that 11 of the 19 horses were intentionally tortured. Torture charges are felonies in the state of Maryland and punishable by up to three years in jail and a fi ne of up to $5,000 for each charge. Reinke was also charged with depriving near-


ly all the horses of necessary sustenance, fail- ing to provide suffi cient quantity of nutritious food, and failing to provide veterinary care. Each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum jail term of 90 days or a fi ne of up to $1000. An arrest warrant was issued on October 12 and court records show that Reinke posted bail and was released. December 22 is the next court date for this case. Misty Manor has operated as a hack stable, les-


son facility, and sales barn at its current location since 2000. It was originally founded and run by the late Judith Reinke, Nichole Reinke’s mother, in 1990 at a diff erent location. In 2016, the farm was transferred to Nichole Reinke and is current- ly operated by her and her wife, Gina Piellusch. G. Michael Keiner, senior animal control of-


fi cer for Carroll County Humane Society, told the Baltimore Sun that they had responded to numerous calls related to cruelty and neglect allegations over the last 19 years. In 2020, Ani- mal Control visited Misty Manor several times and reported that there were anywhere from 75 to 128 horses on the 64 acre property. Ju- dith Reinke was directed by Animal Control to reduce the horse numbers and provide proper shelter in November 2020. In December, 19 horses were seized by the county after Keiner and veternarians


from Windsor Veterinar-


ian Services inspected them on December 8 and December 9. At that time, Judith Reinke signed those 19 horses over to the county.


Youth Driving Scholarship


T e Harness Horse Youth Foundation an- nounced in November that the David Snyder family and the International Sound Corporation are continuing to fund scholarships for students involved in harness racing. T e Harness Tracks of America Scholarships will now be called the Har- old and Marcia Snyder Memorial Scholarship.


Congratulations to Monica Fiss and Miss Roxy, a three-year-old T oroughbred fi lly that won the Future Event Horse East Coast Championships, held at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown. Miss Roxy was also Overall High Score for all colts and fi llies as well as the High Point T ree- Year-Old in the country.


Applicants must be involved in the harness


racing industry or have a relative who is. Ap- plicants must also demonstrate fi nancial need. T is scholarship is open to high school seniors, college students, and graduate students, with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. For more information, application form and


information on other HHYF scholarships, see https://hhyf.org/scholarships/


Hit and Run Buggy Fatality On October 27, police and fi re/rescue per-


sonnel responded to a motor vehicle accident on Point Lookout Road in the area south of Pin Cushion Road in Loveville. T e accident, which happened sometime around 7:30 am, involved a red pickup truck and a horse and buggy. An off -duty fi refi ghter and nurse were already at the scene of the crash and found buggy driver Henry Stauff er, 65, with serious injuries. Mr. Stauff er later died at the scene. T e driver of the truck had fl ed on foot be-


fore fi rst responders had arrived. Initial reports by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff ’s Offi ce were that the truck crossed the centerline and struck the horse/buggy nearly head on, ejecting Mr. Stauff er, of Loveville, who was the only occu- pant of the buggy. T e accident was caught by video surveillance from nearby stores. On October 31, a warrant was issued for


the arrest of Ryan Nicholas Cherrico, 31, of Mechanicsville. Charges include: Negligent Homicide by Vehicle Under the Infl uence, Negligent Manslaughter by Vehicle, Motor


Vehicle Unlawful Taking, Driving Vehicle Un- der the Infl uence of Alcohol, Driving Vehicle While Impaired by Alcohol, Driving Motor Vehicle on Highway on Suspended License and Privilege, Failure to Immediately Return and Remain at the Scene of Accident Involv- ing Death, and Failure of Driver Involved in Accident to Render Reasonable Assistance to Injured Person. Cherrico was arrested on November 2 and the


St. Mary’s County Sheriff ’s Offi ce issuing the following statement, “T ank you to those in the community who provided information pertain- ing to this investigation.” T e Sheriff ’s Offi ce later reported that Cher-


rico had been stopped by police at the T ird Base store approximately 23 minutes after the accident. T e offi cers noted a strong odor of alcohol emitting from Cherrico’s breath, and also noted that he was talking very slowly with slurred speech. Cherrico has a history of DUI/ DWI and had a suspended Maryland license at the time of the crash. Nevertheless, police did not have enough evidence to detain him. After the arrest, police uncovered text mes-


sages between Cherrico and his mother show- ing that Cherrico was the operator of the ve- hicle and that he was aware of the crash. T e message contained information that only the driver of the vehicle could have known. As of press, Cherrico remains incarcerated


at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Reha- bilitation Center in Leondardtown.


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www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | DECEMBER 2021 | 9


Amy Flemming Waters


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