A San Francisco woman, accused of pulling a horse’s tail, leading to a five-year-old boy being left bruised and injured after being bucked from the animal, was arrested last weekend.
Tomasa Panjojleon, 29, was held on suspicion of felony child endangerment, the Daly City Police Department announced Monday. The suspect was booked into San Mateo County Main Jail in Redwood City after being detained Saturday.
Police said officers responded to Thornton Beach Recreation Area in Daly City, in the Bay Area, on February 23 after a young rider fell from a horse during a lesson after an unknown woman – who was later identified as Panjojleon – allegedly tugged its tail.
“The unexpected action startled the horse, resulting in the juvenile being thrown off,” police said in a statement Sunday. “The juvenile sustained injuries as a result of the fall.”
Police said the suspect fled the area before officers arrived at the scene. An investigation is underway.
Officials did not reveal the extent of the child’s injuries.
However, the victim’s cousin, Alexandra Fuerte, told The Independent that the boy was being taken to a podiatrist by his aunt on Tuesday after sustaining an injury to his right ankle.
Fuerte said the suspect’s actions were cruel enough for the horse, let alone while being ridden by a child. “It is just horrible,” she added.
In a social media post on Sunday, she said the boy had been advised by doctors to stay off his feet for at least a week.
The day after the incident, Fuerte wrote that the victim’s helmet possibly spared him from a concussion.
A video seeming to show the incident was posted to Instagram by Fuerte on February 24. She said it took place at Ocean View Stables, with staff swiftly acting to calm down the horse to ensure it didn’t trample the victim.
In the clip, the suspect is seen running up behind the horse while being ridden by a young boy and appears to yank its tail, causing the animal to stand on its hind legs. The camera pans away and cuts to the floor moments later.
Fuerte said the other young rider seen in the video was the victim’s five-year-old cousin who did not sustain any injuries.
The victim’s mother, Mary Fuerte, also posted the video on Facebook last week and said that the fall left her son “limping,” adding that “he's scared, his back and nose hurts.” She claimed that the “horse could have killed my son.”
Ocean View Stables’ barn manager Caroline Read told KRON 4 that the horse, “Zeuss”, also sustained injuries. She added that the incident took place during a 10-to-15-minute pasture pony ride to get the children used to their horse.
Read also told KTVU that the child got back on the horse and claimed the family “denied all medical intervention.”
The Independent has contacted the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and Ocean View Stables for more information.
