A California mother is speaking out after her young son suffered a fractured leg when a stranger allegedly pulled a horse’s tail, spooking the animal and throwing him to the ground.
Meri Fuerte said she took her 5-year-old son to Ocean View Stables in Daly City on Feb. 23 for what was supposed to be an enjoyable horse ride. But things quickly took a terrifying turn when a woman standing nearby suddenly ran up behind the horse and yanked its tail. The startled animal reacted instantly, tossing the little boy off, Fuerte told KTVU and Fox 26 News.
The shocking moment was caught on video and has since gone viral. Fuerte said the woman, identified as 29-year-old Tomasa Panjojleon of San Francisco, laughed after the incident, seemingly unfazed by the chaos she had just caused.
As a result of the fall, the child suffered a fractured leg and a severe hematoma, Fuerte said. However, at the time of the incident, it wasn’t immediately clear that he was seriously injured.
Daly City police were called to the Thorton Beach Recreation Area later that day to investigate the incident. In a statement, police said that during the boy’s riding lesson, “an unknown female subject approached the horse from behind and pulled its tail,” which “startled the horse, resulting in the juvenile being thrown off.”
By the time authorities arrived, Panjojleon had already left the area. She was later arrested but posted bail within three hours, a fact that left Fuerte feeling frustrated.
“I also didn’t think it was fair that she made bail in three hours and lived her life free, knowing that she could have caused the death of a person,” she told Fox 26 News.
Meanwhile, Ocean View Stables said they were unaware the boy had suffered a fractured leg at the time. Barn Manager Caroline Reed explained that after the fall, the child’s family declined medical assistance and even agreed to let him get back on the horse.
“We always ask, ‘Do you want to get back on?’ That’s always the cowboy way of doing it,” Reed said. “They said yes, so the child got back on.”
Reed also noted that the boy stayed at the stables for about an hour after the fall, running around and playing with his sister. “We have the footage of that, him playing. There was no limp in these videos,” she added.
Fuerte later said her son didn’t immediately show signs of injury, but once he was treated, the extent of his fracture became clear. Now, she’s left dealing with steep medical bills and is determined to hold the suspect accountable for what happened.