A judge in Kaufman County will consider Friday morning whether he will dismiss a co-defendant of porn star Stormy Daniels from a defamation lawsuit that pits them on one side against a Rockwall horse trainer.
The co-defendant, equestrian Erin Walker, will bring forth anti-SLAPP arguments for why she should be dismissed from the lawsuit, which was filed in July by Ellen Doughty-Hume, her husband and their company, Pegasus Eventing.
The suit alleges Walker, Daniels and others (including Daniels’ ex-husband Glendon Crain) participated in a smear campaign that resulted in the revocation of Doughty-Hume’s instructor certification by the United States Eventing Association, the national nonprofit that governs equestrian eventing.
Daniels and Crain had a falling out with Doughty-Hume after two of their horses died while in Pegasus Eventing’s care, according to court documents. Daniels posted about the incident and Doughty-Hume on the equine website, The Chronicle of the Horse. Doughty-Hume alleges that those statements were false and that disparaged her business. The trainer alleges Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, and others then went on to file complaints with the USEA about Doughty-Hume’s teaching, training and boarding methods, which prompted an investigation that caused Doughty-Hume to lose her instructor certification.
According to court documents, Walker was named in the lawsuit for participating in making statements to the USEA. Walker trained with Doughty-Hume from April 2016 to August 2017, during which she says she learned for herself of Doughty-Hume’s questionable practices, including excessive whipping of horses and over-facing, which occurs when a horse approaches an obstacle that it does not feel comfortable jumping over and comes to a stop.
After the USEA probe began, court documents say, Walker first submitted a favorable letter on Doughty-Hume’s behalf because she continually “badgered [her] incessantly” to do so. At the time she wrote the letter (July 2017), Walker said she was already “planning an escape” from Doughty-Hume’s barn and only wrote the letter because she was afraid for her horses.
After leaving Pegasus Eventing, Walker revoked her letter with the USEA and agreed to file a complaint on the condition of anonymity after the USEA asked for a statement.
“I felt it was very important to try to prevent other horses and riders from experiencing the dangerous instruction and inhumane treatment that I experienced and witnessed with Doughty-Hume,” Walker’s affidavit says.
After issuing her January 2018 statement, Walker said she received a cease-and-desist letter that demanded her to retract her statements with the USEA, which Walker refused to do. Doughty-Hume’s certification was revoked the following month.
At Friday morning’s hearing, Dallas attorney Alan Dabdoub will argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed against Walker under the Texas Citizens Participation Act because Walker’s statements “relate to the health and safety of horses, their riders and the public.”
Daniels is yet to make a formal appearance in the lawsuit, so it is unknown at this time whether she has retained counsel or if she will show up at today’s hearing.
Christine Renne, a lawyer based in The Woodlands who represents Doughty-Hume, did not respond to requests for comment.