May 1, 2015

Written by Sharon Packer

Dr. Cesar Parra, who was a 2004 Olympian for his native Colombia and a gold medalist on the United States Pan American Games team, was acquitted by a Hunterdon County New Jersey Superior Court jury of charges of cruelty to a horse.

The New Jersey civil court jury voted unanimously 8-0 to drop the charges against Parra of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and Jupiter, Florida.  Charges were brought by Trudy Miranda in June, 2009, claiming negligence by the trainer resulted in injuries to her Hanoverian stallion, William PFF.  Evidence presented in the case included a video of the incident in which the horse was injured and eye-witness testimony showing the manner in which the horse fell and sustained a traumatic brain injury.  Any horse owner would be devastated by a catastrophic injury of horse, but the evidence clearly showed the injury to be accidental.

The formal finding of “no cause” came two days before Cesar’s 52nd birthday, which is today.  Though the past 6 years have been emotionally distressing, Parra, who became a U.S. citizen in 2008, remained assured that justice would be done.

In a quote to the Chronicle of the Horse, Parra stated, ““One of the things that I believe about this country is that the system works, maybe not as fast as we want, but it works,” he said. “I believe in the justice.”

In an interview this morning, Dr. Parra stated:

“In response to those allegations, I am very grateful for all of the support I have received through the past years from friends, my clients, even strangers from all over who contacted me.  None of us who work with animals are happy when a horse is injured.  It is very sad, but sometimes accidents do happen.  On the advice of my attorney, I have commented very little on this case through the years.  Now the jury can speak for me.  They heard the evidence, they had no bias, and they found no cause.  I am looking forward to focusing on what I love: my family, the horses, the riding and training.”

Photo: Cesar Parra and Van the Man (Photo Credit: Sharon Packer)