The New Jersey Olympian accused of shooting his equestrian trainee says the 2019 incident never should have happened, blaming the US Equestrian Federation for failing to act on complaints about the victim’s allegedly abusive behavior.

The nation’s governing body for competitive horse riding fielded reports about the allegedly unhinged Lauren Kanarek from at least three women more than a year before the bloody shooting on dressage coach Michael Barisone’s 60-acre farm in Long Valley, he said in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

Kanarek, 44, survived being shot in the chest. Barisone, 61, was arrested but eventually acquitted of attempted murder by reason of insanity — apparently successfully arguing that the woman’s disturbing behavior impacted him mentally. 4

He had

See Full Page