Charge dropped against Ponoka County horse trainer who said she was just trying to get paid what she was owed

Hank the horse

A Ponoka County horse trainer who found herself charged by the RCMP with cattle theft after what she said was a dispute over unpaid wages has had the charges against her dropped.

RCMP confirmed Wednesday the charge of theft of cattle over $5,000 have been dropped against Katrina Doiron.

Despite the charge that was laid, the matter actually involves a horse.

Doiron spoke about the dispute with CTV News between herself and a horse owner named Joe in August, when she said he fired her right before an auction of a horse named Kevin she’d been training for him in Rimbey, Alta., in late June.

She said she had a handshake deal with Joe, who she had worked with for a number of years, where she would train a horse in order to elevate its value at auction. The deal was that she would receive 15 per cent of the purchase price and Joe would also pay for any out-of-pocket expenses Dorion incurred.

However, the relationship fell apart over allegations that Doiron was prioritizing a second client’s horse at the expense of Kevin, leading to them firing her.

Doiron said that when she didn’t get paid, she refused to return a second horse named Hank to Joe, prompting her to be charged.

Charges dropped

Wednesday, in a interview with CTV News, Doiron appeared on Zoom with Hank.

She still hasn’t been paid but is no longer accused of being a horse thief.

“Essentially once the Crown knew we were handling it civilly, they said send us proof and we’ll drop the charge -- so that’s what happened,” she said.

Doiron says she’s owed $9,100 -- her 15 per cent of what Kevin sold for, out-of-pocket expenses and her half of another horse she says she co-owned with Joe named Casper.

“They refuse to talk about the horse that I own half of with them that they owe me for, so we’ve commenced the civil action against them to try to get what I’m owed but at this point, it’s more about principle because at this point I’ve already spent more money on a lawyer than I was owed (by Joe),” she said.

She had one lawyer representing her pro bono in her criminal proceedings and the second lawyer is representing the civil case. She’s spent $7,500 so far on that one and still owes around $3,500.

She’s launched a GoFundMe page to try to raise the remaining money she owes her second lawyer.

Animal Keeper’s Act

Meanwhile, she has also launched a petition to gather signatures to lobby to change Alberta’s Animal Keeper Act.

Doiron says she applied for a lien under the Animal Keeper’s Act and while the officer she dealt with said there was a lot of debate about it, ultimately her application was denied because it didn’t fit the legal definition of the act.

“It turns out the wording of the legislation only applies to boarding fees, unfortunately,” she said.

She said she’s hearing from plenty of Alberta-based trainers who have been in the business for decades with similar stories and not being protected when it’s standard practice in other areas.

“In Ontario and Oklahoma it’s already that way so it should be the same here,” she said. “It should be the same for us trainers as it is for the boarding facilities – it should be very simple to get a lien on a horse, not all this money and time I’ve had to spend in just rightfully establishing my right to a lien."

As for Hank?

“He’s great. He’s loving life. He’s a freeloader,” Dorion said. “I’m paying all his bills for him.

“He’s just hanging out until they (Joe and his daughter Morgan) decide they want to do the right thing -- or, if he unfortunately has to be sold, I guess it will be up to the judge.

“We’ll see what they say.”