Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Jimmy orr

Jimmy Orr

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, July 31st.  I’m Mac Watson.

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

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After taking in a friend's baby, a Casper foster mom says her family became the target of anonymous threats by the biological mother. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the bio-mom is charged with two stalking felonies. 

“Investigators allege that 27-year-old Daji Carter used fake messaging apps, social media accounts, and more to reach out to a foster mom while she had custody of her biological son. When the infant was first placed in Monroe's care, she received an anonymous message that said, "You're going to die" with a knife emoji and blood. Monroe quickly took us to the police, and an investigation was able to link it back to Dodgy Carter. The threats continued for several weeks, even after protection orders were put in place.”

Carter was bound over to district court Tuesday after a preliminary hearing on two felony counts of stalking and two misdemeanor counts of violating a stalking protection order. She posted a $3,500 surety bond July 15 and was released from custody. 

U.S. House candidate Steve Friess received 19 endorsements Thursday by Republican lawmakers, former legislators, and others. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Chuck Gray calls them “a tired class of political 1% insiders.”

“Steve Friess, who's running for U.S. House, garnered 19 endorsements this week, including from former Republican Governor Jim Garinger, a host of Republican lawmakers, former lawmakers, oil and gas industry leaders, Secretary of State Chuck Gray fired back by calling them a class of insiders, essentially, who are in favor of woke wind and data center projects. That may come as a surprise to some of them. For example, Dan Docksteder, who was among the endorsers, was one of the very few votes against big tax exemptions for data centers.”

Gray has come out against data centers, while Friess has said state and county governments – not Congress – should lead data center permitting decisions in ways that protect Wyomingites. Both men tout a pro-traditional-energy stance.

Another 10 illegal drivers were busted in Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak’s latest Truck Around and Find Out operation this week. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that includes one speeding with what looked like emergency lights. 

“The last truck around campaign that they did, they arrested 46. Since they started this back in November, there's almost 130 illegal drivers have been taken off the road. But Kozak said that really it's not about. Although that gets the headlines, it's not about just going out and rounding up illegal drivers. It's about unsafe truck driving, and people who are illegal and don't have licenses are unsafe. Kozak also said that he knows the ‘Truck Around and Find Out’ campaign is going to get criticism. It's going to be politicized, and he says he's expected that, and that has happened.”

Overall, this week’s Truck Around and Find Out resulted in about 120 traffic stops, with 40 tickets issued to drivers and 10 arrested for being in the country illegally, said Sheriff Kozak and Chief Deputy Chance Walkama.

A suspended Newcastle police sergeant pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges alleging a yearlong pattern of abuse toward a woman. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that he faces up to 27 1/2 years in prison.

“On Thursday, a suspended Newcastle police sergeant pled not guilty to six criminal charges. Prosecutors say that 36-year-old Nicholas Kaminsky, in uniform, terrorized an ex-girlfriend. He used a police cruiser, a canine, and allegedly a knife.  Kaminsky posted a $35,000 cash bond weeks ago. His next court appearance will be for a trial unless they come to a plea agreement before then.”

During the hearing, defense attorney Ryan Titus told the court Kaminski had found new employment that requires travel. He asked the judge to modify Kaminski's bond conditions to allow him to leave the Sixth Judicial District for work. Crook County attorney DaNece Day did not object, telling the court it was important Kaminski remain employed.

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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A federal judge has OK'd a class-action price-fixing lawsuit against the nation’s four largest meatpackers. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm says, “The packers have controlled the destiny of beef for decades, but people are starting to push back.”

“A whole group of people is listed in this class action lawsuit that alleges that the four big meat packers in the U.S. price fixed beef during a five-year time span 2015 through 2020. They allege that these meat packers conspired to manipulate prices, so they bought low from producers and then sold high to grocers and consumers. That's the allegation. Crook County Rancher Tyler Lindholm said it is absolutely up to Congress to fix this. That the government needs to get involved. He said, "What is allowing these big four to capture so much business under one umbrella? He said, "Congress needs to go break the back of these packers.”

Currently, four companies control more than 80% of the U.S-fed cattle processing market, giving them wide influence over cattle prices and the nation's beef supply.

Wyoming legislators have advanced a “Band-Aid” to food freedom laws that led to shutting down Hippie Cow Creamery in Cody over selling raw milk lattes. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that one lawmaker says, “I’m under no illusion we’re going to fix this overnight.”

“Senator Bob Ide had said that he's under no illusion they're going to fix the Food Freedom Act overnight. He called this stopgap measure a band aid. What it does or proposes to do if it passes is to have the director of the Department of Agriculture have an exemption privilege to where he could exempt certain people from the Food Freedom Act, so they can sell their wares at a non-designated location. Senator Barry Craigel worried, like, is this giving false hope?”

The bill seeks to give the director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture the discretion to give one exemption each, for home food sellers wanting to sell products outside the designated food-freedom sale sites already in law.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

Cheyenne native Alan O’Hashi vividly remembers being caught in the canyon when the Big Thompson Flood, the deadliest flood in Colorado history, hit on July 31, 1976. Cowboy State Daily’s Executive Editor Jimmy Orr reports that O’Hashi survived when a floating portable toilet snagged his car and carried it to safety.

“It's a spooky story because as he's driving up the canyon, he's the only one driving up, and he sees a ton of cars driving down in quickly, and he had no idea what happened. Well, a dam burst, and it's the deadliest flood in Colorado history. And Alan Ohashi, the star of the story, is doomed. This wall of water comes down, and it's a it's about to whisk him, off the mountain, when a portable toilet is floating by, floating by, and knocks him into the canyon wall somehow, and and he survives. He shouldn't have survived, and he says that he should not have survived.”

As a young college student working as a graduate assistant at the University of Wyoming in 1976, Alan O’Hashi had landed a plum summer job along with his university gig. He was a ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park. A Cheyenne native, O’Hashi, now 73 and living in Boulder, Colorado. The flood killed 144 people and cost 30 to 40 million dollars in damage.

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a no-show for his arraignment hearing on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports according to Wyoming law, Converse County could benefit.

“When all is said and done with this bond money, whether it's just deemed to be forfeit, whatever is left over, what happens to it is it goes to local schools. That's according to Wyoming law. It will go to the Converse County Treasurer's office for them to put in that county school fund. So the answer to what happens at $250,000 ultimately, whatever isn't eaten up in court costs, fines, anything like that, goes to schools.”

Smallbone also could be ordered to pay for the costs of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office to go get him from San Francisco, where he was 

, four hours after he missed his court hearing.

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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 7 31 26

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 31, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include:
* Kozak Busts 10 More Illegal Drivers
* Price-Fixing Lawsuit Against Big-4 Meatpackers
* Foster Parent Says She Was Terrorized By Bio Mom

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 31, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Mostly sunny in much of Wyoming on Friday with a chance of afternoon rain, smoky in some areas. Partly cloudy overnight. Highs in the 80s and 90s. Lows mainly in the 50s and low 60s.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

Areas of smoke, chance of rain mainly after 4 p.m., otherwise sunny and breezy today with a high near 92 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Breezy, gradually becoming clear overnight with a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 59.

  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 88 and partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

  Patchy smoke, sunny today with a high near 91 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 55.

Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 5 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 56 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 49.

 Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 51.

  Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., otherwise sunny and breezy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 49.

 Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., otherwise sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

  Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Patchy smoke, sunny today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 46.

Areas of smoke, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 95 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

:  Areas of smoke, slight chance of rain after 1 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 92 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Breezy, gradually becoming clear overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 93 and mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 59 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

   Chance of rain mainly after 1 p.m., areas of smoke, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 61.

  Slight chance of rain after 1 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 96 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 57.

:   Slight chance of rain after 1 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 95 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 59.

Mostly sunny today with a high near 91 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Mostly cloudy, becoming clear overnight with a low near 60 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

   Sunny today with a high near 88 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

:  Sunny today with a high near 85 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 60 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 92 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 60.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and hot today with a high near 91 and partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 60.

  Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

   Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny today with a high near 85 and partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 57.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 51.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly cloudy, gradually becoming clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 57.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

   Mostly sunny today with a high near 85 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 51.

   Sunny and hot today with a high near 91 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

Daycap small 7 31 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 31, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 31, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a 

 on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

The Converse County Attorney’s Office could file a motion to revoke or forfeit all, some or none of Smallbone’s bond, said Steven Titus, a Gillette defense attorney.

And those costs could likely be pulled from that $250,000 bond, said Titus, adding that he’s referencing general options and not specifics about Smallbone’s case.

That said, he thinks Smallbone missing that hearing “was stupid,” and that it’s “very rare” for someone to not show up for court when a large amount of money or their home is on the line.

“I can’t remember the last time someone willingly missed court, knowingly missed court, with that kind of money on the line,” Titus said. “It’s really rare for something like this to happen.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Smallbone was still being held at the San Francisco County Jail on a fugitive warrant out of Wyoming.

He hasn’t yet been seen by a judge there and a hearing on his extradition to Wyoming hasn’t been set, according to the Superior Court of San Francisco.

When he does get back, Titus said he would be “shocked” if the judge in his case doesn’t revoke his bond altogether or raise it significantly.

“My guess is the judge will increase the bond, because if he wasn’t a flight risk before, he’s shown he is now,” Titus said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Who Gets The Money?"}]

The Converse County Attorney’s Office so far hasn’t filed a motion to revoke or forfeit Smallbone’s bond, according to the public-facing court file in the case.

While he won’t comment on Smallbone’s case or circumstances, Converse County Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Shumway echoed Titus’ assessment that there are many things that can determine just how much — or little — bond is forfeited in a criminal case.

That process could include holding an evidentiary hearing to show someone “willfully violated a condition of their bond,” Shumway said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.

“In the instance of a failure to appear, what usually must be proven is that the failure to appear was willful, and not because of something outside the defendant’s control,” he said.

“If the State meets its burden, the Defendant’s bond is revoked and the process continues as if the person had admitted to violating their bond,” he added.

[{"type":"text","text":"If not, the bond is reinstated."}]

The $250,000 question some are asking now that Smallbone has been picked up for the second time within a week on a fugitive warrant in another state is: Where does that money go?

[{"type":"text","text":"It can be a variety of places, both Titus and Shumway said."}]

Some of the money can be used to repay costs associated with finding and apprehending someone on the run, and the court can implement penalties, Titus added.

[{"type":"text","text":"Whatever is left goes to local schools."}]

“When a bond is ordered forfeited by the court, the money is paid into the county treasury to the credit of the county’s public school fund, in accordance with Wyoming Statute 7-10-105,” Shumway said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How We Got Here"}]

Smallbone was released from jail June 24, when someone walked into the Converse County Detention Center with $250,000 cash.

He was arrested July 22 on a fugitive warrant in Fort Collins, Colorado, after investigators learned he may have been trying to flee Wyoming.

 on a personal recognizance bond before Converse County officials could bring him back to Wyoming.

Smallbone then was a no-show for his Tuesday arraignment hearing in Douglas, then about four hours later was arrested again in San Francisco, Sheriff Clint Becker reported.

Siegel hadn’t responded by Thursday afternoon to an offer to explain what happened in her courtroom with Smallbone.

The result was frustrating for law enforcement in two states, with Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh calling the release “a surprising twist” that left him “shocked.”

The Larimer County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado also has questioned how an accused child sex abuser was released.

“Mr. Smallbone was taken into custody on a valid and active warrant out of Wyoming, which included dozens of allegations of sexual crimes against children,” agency spokesperson Kylie Masserman said in a Monday email to Cowboy State Daily. 

She said her office asked Magistrate Siegel to also issue a $250,000 cash-only bond for Smallbone. 

That’s because the objective was “to keep him in custody until he could be transferred back to Wyoming to face his charges,” she said in the statement. “This request was consistent with what the Wyoming authorities requested and consistent with our practices on cases of this severity.”

Masserman said that instead, the personal recognizance bond was issued “contrary to our request.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Hearing"}]

Meanwhile, Converse County officials were ready and waiting in case Smallbone did show up for his Tuesday hearing, or for any trouble that might ensue because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Sheriff Becker was leaning on a rail outside the justice center ahead of the scheduled hearing, flanked by five deputies. 

Three more deputies manned the security station just inside the front doors, and two Douglas cops were hanging out inside the courtroom.

While there were no emotional fireworks, Becker said he and his deputies were ready “just in case.”

It was the same inside the courtroom, which looked a bit like a shotgun wedding, with the 30 or so people watching from the gallery choosing to sit behind the prosecutor’s table.

[{"type":"text","text":"The hearing, scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m., was over by 3:35."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Charges"}]

Smallbone’s charges relate to a trove of videos and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) allegedly found on his phone and electronic devices while Converse County investigators were looking into a report that he propositioned a young girl, according to a court affidavit.

The mother of an underage girl reported concerning interactions her daughter had with Smallbone on May 9.

The girl was in a vehicle with Smallbone and others when he allegedly typed “if you suck me, I’ll lick you” on his phone and showed it to the girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Lt. Benjamin K.P. Peech of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office.

“He also mouthed the words, ‘I want to see you naked,’” the affidavit says.

Smallbone later denied mouthing anything or showing the girl any messages.

On those devices, investigators report that they found dozens of images and videos depicting prepubescent girls and boys performing a wide range of sex acts, the affidavit says. Many of the videos appear to have been created by Smallbone in rooms and spaces that are identifiable enough to connect them to alleged potential victims.

The most disturbing allegations stem from a series of at least seven videos that the affidavit reports allegedly show a young girl having her pants pulled down and being subjected to sex with a dog.

Along with the CSAM, investigators say they found “records indicating (his phone) had been used to connect to the Tor Browser, which is commonly used by subjects accessing CSAM to communicate within the Dark Web anonymously,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He’s charged with:"}]

• 1 count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

• 36 counts of possessing child pornography.

• 16 counts of using a video camera to record intimate areas of another person without consent.

• 18 counts of knowingly manufacturing, generating, or creating child pornography.

• 1 count of possessing more than 3 ounces of marijuana (1.3 pounds).

At Tuesday’s hearing, Shumway said his office intends to file new, expanded charges against Smallbone. Those weren’t available in the public court files as of Thursday afternoon.

If convicted with maximum concurrent sentences, Smallbone could face up to 791 years in prison and fines of up to $710,000.

The most serious is the sexual abuse of a minor charge, which calls for a sentence of between 25 and 50 years.

Smallbone and courthouse 2 7 30 26

<title>What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a no-show for his arraignment hearing on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court

Business & Tourism

Dozens of horses might have been exposed to a highly contagious disease recently at the Park County Fair in Powell.

On Tuesday, Smallwood Horses announced it was placing its Powell facility under a voluntary two-week quarantine after one of its horses presented symptoms of an infection of the bacterium Streptococcus equi, also known as Strangles.

“This horse presented no symptoms before, during, or immediately after (the) fair,” Ashley Smallwood said 

. “Veterinarians contacted about possible exposure suggest that the horses attending the fair be monitored for symptoms.”

Britt Whitt of Whitt Veterinary Services in Powell released a statement saying strangles is “a highly infectious disease” with “high morbidity and low mortality.”

“In the case of an outbreak, many animals that are exposed will develop the disease, but very few will die from the disease,” Whitt said.

Whitt was not available for additional information at the time of publication. Smallwood told Cowboy State Daily she would “absolutely not” discuss the exposure and quarantine.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How Serious Is Strangles?"}]

Erin Brus is a Certified Equine Massage Therapist (CEMT), veterinary technician, and horse owner working in Park County. She had strong feelings about the strangles exposure at the Park County Fair.

“On a personal level, there are a lot of words I cannot use,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “On a professional level, I’m severely disappointed.”

Brus explained that strangles affects horses like a combination of “pneumonia and a really bad head cold.” Symptoms include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, nasal discharge, lethargy, and loss of appetite.

What concerns Brus and other horse owners is how easily strangles can spread.

“It is, by far, one of the most contagious sicknesses there is,” she said. “It’s as easy as sharing a water or feed bucket with a friend, and owners can transfer it off their boots, jeans, shirts, and hands.”

Brus said she’s constantly disinfecting her equipment and herself to prevent spreading any infections to the horses she owns and works with.

“I’m a paranoid horse owner that when I heard about this, I immediately texted the vet I work with to see if I needed to do anything,” she said.

Around 75% of horses infected with strangles come out of it within two weeks and develop an immunity within three to six weeks, according to Brus. The infection can be fatal, but usually only for foals or immunocompromised adults.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Where’s The Outrage?"}]

Brus has been following the spread of strangles this summer. According to the data she’s reviewed, via 

, the impact has stretched across Wyoming.

“We have 12 confirmed cases in Wyoming across seven different counties this summer,” she said.

 said that strangles cases had been confirmed in Albany, Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Park, Sweetwater, and Weston counties.

In her statement, Smallwood said, “We can all use this as a learning experience about biosecurity when traveling,” and that “when we do take our horses places, they can be exposed to disease without knowing.”

Brus took some exception to that, calling out “the horse community as a whole" for not testing their horses before taking them to fairs, rodeos, and other events throughout the country.

“If you are taking your horse anywhere 

 the fair, across state lines, to a sale 

 you need to be doing a full panel for everything,” she said. “You need to see if your horse has any diseases, sicknesses, or issues before you do anything.”

Brus said she believes the Park County Fairgrounds and other Wyoming venues with horse-related events should implement mandatory bacterial cultures, blood tests, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests before any horses are allowed on the grounds.

If the horse comes back clean, off to the fair. If it doesn’t, the horse can be quarantined at home without the risk of infecting other horses at a high-density event like a fair or rodeo.

“It's the wisest decision, especially in (Park County),” she said. “You have rodeo people coming in and out all summer. It’s 90 days of people in and out consistently. If you’re going anywhere with your horses, more people need to do it.”

, an outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and EHV-4 was reported in four states. If infected animals aren’t treated, the respiratory illnesses can progress into equine herpes myeloencephalopathy, a serious neurological condition with a 75% mortality rate.

The source of the outbreak was a horse at the World Championship Barrel Racing Finals in Waco, Texas. Around 1,000 horses attended the event.

Like strangles, EHV-1 and EHV-4 can be spread by horse-to-horse contact as well as via shared buckets and people's clothes and equipment.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Better Safe Than Sorry"}]

Of all the thoughts and emotions Brus had when she heard about the strangles exposure at the Park County Fair, she wasn’t surprised.

“Professionally, I am disappointed in the horse community as a whole,” she said. “Getting horses tested needs to be at the forefront of their minds, and many aren’t doing it.”

Brus doesn’t see the strangles situation at the Park County Fair as an unfortunate accident. Even if the infected horse wasn’t showing symptoms, it clearly had been exposed to strangles at some point.

“The best way to beat this thing is when it hasn’t fully developed in their system,” she said. “If you share a water bucket with a friend, now both your horses have strangles because one of them was a carrier without symptoms. Even if you’re taking your horse to visit a friend’s house, you don’t know if they’ve gotten their horse tested.”

In Brus’ opinion, the lesson from the Park County Fair incident is the consequences of irresponsibility.

If someone’s horse is going to mingle with other horses from around the state, it should have a clean bill of health, even when it isn’t showing symptoms. Brus said that isn’t happening, which is how strangles and other equine diseases spread so far and quickly.

“If you’re smart, you’ll get ahead of it,” she said. “PCRS don’t cost that much. Microbial cultures are two-day, low-cost. When you get your horse tested, it clears everything up.

Brus also shared her concern about upcoming fairs. Several are already underway, and the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas starts Aug. 11.

Could a horse exposed to strangles at the Park County Fair show up and spread the infection at other fairs? Brus said there’s a good chance it could happen, and might already be underway.

“From what I've heard, they're keeping it under wraps because they don't want to panic the community,” she said. “Fairs are a huge thing right now, and with a Park County outbreak, we don't know what state fairs are even going to look like.”

Dozens of horses might have been exposed to strangles, a highly contagious equine disease, at the Park County Fair in Powell. Smallwood Horses announced Tuesday it placed its facility under a two-week quarantine after a horse presented symptoms.

CSD Staff

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