Mystery over why horse owner tried to feed rat poison to another womans dressage mare

A horse lover landed herself in court after being caught trying to poison a fellow equestrians dressage mare.

Christine Campey, 68, was seen slipping bright pink grains of rat poison into the morning meal of the nine year old horse called Elle that shared a stable with her own mare.

The footage was found after the owner of the privately owned livery yard in Warrington, Cheshire, discovered the poison scattered on the stable yard floor.

Ex-nurse Campey, a former hospital cardiology ward manager, had stabled her own horse Buzz close to Elle shortly before the incident.

She was later charged with attempting to administer a poison to a protected animal which she admitted at Chester Crown Court earlier this month.

Campey, who was fined almost £1,000 and given a 12-month conditional discharge, claimed she was on strong pain medication at the time of the incident and could not remember the incident.

Gill Poole, 48, who owns Elle said she was puzzled by Mrs Campeys actions which thankfully were found out before serious injury was caused to the horse.

Gill Poole said she was devastated when she realised what had happened.

Christine Campey (pictured) was seen slipping bright pink grains of rat poison into the morning meal of the nine year old horse called Elle

The box of rat poison which Christine used in the stables.

Gills horse Elle with a pony at the stables in Warrington, Cheshire 

When interviewed by the officers from Cheshire Police Campey said she didnt remember what happened adding shed been suffering a lot of pain at the time

She said: The worst part of all is that there was no reason for it - nobody had fallen out or anything like that.

Its the sheer randomness of it which makes you wonder why did it happen in the first place.

Gill said Elle, who suffered no ill effects from the poison, had only been at the yard three weeks when Campey performed the actions on May 16 2023.

The horse lover said that she and Campey had agreed to share some of their tendering duties at the yard in Warrington, in Cheshire, which included the morning feed.

Recalling the day Gill, a school teacher, said she received a phone call from the stable owner saying she had seen CCTV showing Campey, of Caldwells Gate Lane, in Warrington, Cheshire, slipping poison into Elles feed.

Gill said the owner had become suspicious when she noticed a sealed bucket of the poison had been interfered with and its contents were spilled across the yard floor.

Gill said: That morning it was me who fed our horses and the yard owner had told me Christine had said she had walked onto the yard to find the poison scattered everywhere.

Im just thankful that the CCTV was checked which showed Christine probing the box and pouring it on the floor and then later putting it into Elles food, as she was the only one to touch it that morning.

Gill Poole (pictured) who owns Elle said she was puzzled by Mrs Campeys actions

Campey was fined almost £1,000 and given a 12-month conditional discharge

Gill Poole said she was devastated when she realised what had happened

The video footage shows Campey opening the bucket and spilling it onto the floor before taking the poison into the feed room where she then presumably put some to the horse food.

Once retuning she pretends to give the food to her horse by lifting it into its stable before taking it back and giving it to Elle.

Once Elle had eaten the feed and had been turned out into the field Christine then made a feed for the afternoon also laced with poison.

Later that morning is when the yard owner then found poison hidden underneath the chaff in Elles bucket - a meal she would have been fed without inspection had it not been checked by coincidence.

Gill said she was in utter denial and refrained call the police until the next day saying that she didnt want to cause any trouble.

The yard owner checked all the stable once realising the poison had been tampered with and then discovered remnants on the floor of Elles stable.

When interviewed by the officers from Cheshire Police Campey said she didnt remember what happened adding shed been suffering a lot of pain at the time and had been taking medication.

The ex-nurse initially denied the charge of attempting to administer a poisonous substance to a protected animal.

Gill said she is unable to comprehend why such a cruel act was carried out on an innocent animal

The ex-nurse initially denied the charge of attempting to administer a poisonous substance to a protected animal

Ex-nurse Campey, a former hospital cardiology ward manager, had stabled her own horse Buzz close to Elle shortly before the incident

However at a pre-trial review hearing on Tuesday April 8 2025 at Chester Crown Court she pleaded guilty.

His Honour Judge Simon Berkson handed her a conditional discharge, meaning she has a criminal conviction, but will only be punished if she commits another offence in the next 12 months.

She was ordered to pay £500 court costs, a victim surcharge, and £430 compensation to cover the cost of moving Elle to a field opposite Gills home, where she can keep an eye on her.

After the hearing Gill said she is unable to comprehend why such a cruel act was carried out on an innocent animal.

She also said: Im just so grateful to still have her alive.

The vet said if we hadnt had found out and this had gone on for a couple of days Elle could have died.

Hopefully, this outcome will deter Christine from harming any animals in the future.