The U.S. Equestrian Federation has expelled equine veterinarian and amateur dressage rider Ashlee Watts in the wake of her conviction for felony animal cruelty by a Brazos County, Texas, criminal court.

The October 2024 conviction and subsequent USEF ruling stem from a 2019 incident in which Watts repeatedly used an electric cattle prod on a horse named Allie who was recovering from surgery. Before Watts’ criminal trial, the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners revoked her veterinary license in January 2024.

“The Texas State of Administrative Hearings (‘SOAH”) issued a decision against Ashlee Watts on the basis that, while providing post-surgical care to Allie, she failed to meet the standard of care, performed unnecessary and unauthorized treatment, failed to keep adequate and truthful veterinary records, and engaged in illegal animal cruelty by using a ‘hotshot’ or handheld cattle prod to repeatedly shock Allie in an effort to get her to stand,” USEF wrote in its May 30 ruling.

“Dr. Watts exhausted her administrative remedies before the Veterinary authorities in Texas and defended herself through a full multi-day criminal trial in which she was afforded due process protections and a full opportunity to defend herself and confront the prosecution’s witnesses,” continued the USEF ruling. “Although the evidence presented in the criminal case involved numerous lay and expert witnesses and was naturally more extensive, in both cases Dr. Watts was found to have committed the same basic acts outlined above. Dr. Watts chose not to attend the hearing before the USEF Hearing Panel, or to submit any evidence or witnesses to rebut the Federation’s case.”

The USEF noted the “brutality and lack of empathy” of Watts’ actions.

“The Federation, as the National Governing Body of Equestrian sport, has a mission and purpose to advance and safeguard the horses that make the sport possible,” the ruling continues. “In the Hearing Panel’s view, Dr. Watts’ mistreatment of Allie shocks the conscience and is inimical to the fundamental principles that undergird the sport of equestrian.”

The USEF hearing panel expelled Watts, College Station, Texas, for a minimum of 10 years, after which time she can reapply for membership at a hearing where she must provide “proof of total rehabilitation.” Watts is unable to participate in any USEF activities or any USEF-licensed competitions in any capacity as an exhibitor, participant or spectator. Any horses she owns or leases are prohibited from competing or participating in any USEF activity as well.

Unlike a suspension, which is for a specific period, expulsion is a permanent removal of membership with the opportunity to apply for reinstatement. To be reinstated, one must apply to the USEF regulation department and attend a USEF hearing.

The hearing took place April 21, and the panel’s decision was published May 30.

“At the close of a case, the Hearing Panel goes into deliberations and determines whether a violation occurred and if so, the appropriate sanction. It typically takes 30-60 days for them to issue the reasoned decision, which is much more detailed than the short summary published,” wrote Vicki Lowell, USEF chief marketing and content officer, in an email.

The ruling was published three days after the USEF sent a letter written by CEO Bill Moroney and COO and general counsel Sonja Keating to membership titled “The Role Of The Equestrian Community: A Call To Unite As Guardians Of The Horse And Horse Sport,” the same day the Chronicle published an open letter by USEF member Caroline Howe, which questioned USEF’s commitment to ending horse abuse. The letter used Watts’ case as an example of what she called USEF’s reluctance to take “a strong, immediate response to abuse.”