A 15-year-old girl whose pet horse was stolen and ridden through the streets of Napier, leading to animal being permanently disabled, is "over the moon" after learning the man responsible for joy riding her horse has been caught.
John Obrien , 18, appeared in Napier District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking and ill-treating Stella, a 15-year-old mare, as he rode her with no horse shoes and no bit in her mouth, to a point Stella became "permanently disabled".
A grinning Obrien stood in the dock and also pleaded guilty to several unrelated charges, including assault with intent to injure and resisting police.
He was remanded in custody until sentencing on July 1 and faces a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment for the charges relating to mistreating the horse.
Stella belongs to teenager Ashleigh Kearns, whose father found the horse at a Napier property three days after she was taken from a Riverbend Rd paddock last December.