Woman gets 10-year ban for maltreating three ponies

A Surrey woman who failed to show at Guildford Magistrates Court on Monday, 26 November, charged with causing unnecessary suffering to three ponies, has been banned from keeping horses for 10 years.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Michele Alcroft of Hamesmoor Road, Mytchett, after she failed to turn up and Surrey Police later caught up with her at her home on Friday, 7 December where she was arrested and taken to court that afternoon.

At Guildford Magistrates Court Alcroft was given a 10-year ban, ordered to work 80hr unpaid community service and pay costs of £2,000 to the RSPCA within 14 days.

ILPH (International League for the Protection of Horses) field officer Ted Barnes commented: “This is a fantastic result and is one of the best outcomes of any case I have been involved with.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (20 December, ’07)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now