Justice For Dually

For the past year and a half, we’ve followed the heartbreaking story of a one-time, top notch barrel racing horse that was stolen and beaten.

The horse’s name is Dually and his injuries were so severe his owner thought he’d never compete again in the professional rodeo.  But Dually is back in the saddle and galloping toward a possible comeback.

Wendy Halweg never thought she’d be able to put a bridle or saddle on Dually ever again. But just last month, she began riding him for the first time since his injuries.

“To see him where he was at when I found him that day and the state he was in, the shape he was in before that and what had happened, you learn to put it all in God and trust and see what happens,” Halweg said.

In 2009 at a 4th of July rodeo in Ft. Pierre, Dually was stolen from his corral in the middle of the night. They found him the next day with serious injuries, including rope burns around his hooves and neck.  The cuts were so deep, they damaged Dually’s tendons. As far as Halweg was concerned, Dually’s days as a barrel racing horse were done.

But thanks to lots of medical care and slow rehabilitation like an oversized treadmill that allowed Dually to exercise indoors over the winter during his recovery, this once up-and-coming barrel racing horse is finally back in the saddle. 

“I just got on him and walked him around that day.  He kind of wanted to go; he was kind of telling me it’s time,” Halweg said.  “He’s ready to do something.  I think he’s bored.  I mean he’s always had something done with him so standing around is boring to him.”

But getting Dually to this point wasn’t easy.  Halweg says she didn’t know what to expect, if Dually was truly healed enough, but wanted to finally give it a try.

“It was pretty emotional because you don’t know if you’re ever going to do it again or not.  It’s a blessing I can,” Halweg said…..(read more)

Dahl, 23, signs plea agreement

By David Montgomery
Capital Journal staff
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, May 13, 2010 – 12:27:18 am CDT

Flint Dahl, 23, has signed a plea agreement, Stanley County state’s attorney Thomas P. Maher told magistrate judge Mark Smith on Wednesday.

Several points still need to be ironed out, but Maher said he expected to have the agreement filed before Friday morning, when Dahl was scheduled to have a hearing.

“I think between now and Friday this will get resolved,” Maher said to Smith. “Probably we’ll be in touch with you quite soon to cancel Friday and schedule an arraignment or sentencing.”

Maher and Dahl’s attorney Bernard Duffy declined to specify the terms of the agreement Wednesday.

The deal will encompass four separate incidents.

The first, and most serious, is an incident from July 2009 where Dahl is accused of stealing a rodeo horse named Dually from the Stanley County Fairgrounds and causing significant injuries to it while riding it through town.

From this incident he faces a felony grand theft charge and a misdemeanor count of inhumane treatment of an animal.

Dahl also faces misdemeanor charges from three other Stanley County incidents.

An August run-in with a sheriff’s deputy left Dahl charged with threatening a law enforcement officer, obstructing a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct.

A September incident saw Dahl allegedly crash his pickup truck into a pole and then leave the scene without reporting the accident. He’s charged with hit-and-run property damage, reckless driving and failure to report an accident.

Finally, in November, Dahl was pulled over driving a tractor trailer and having a blood alcohol level of .077 percent, above the .04 percent limit for driving a commercial vehicle. Dahl was charged with driving a commercial vehicle under the influence and lacking a commercial driver’s license.

A drug test after his November arrest resulted in an additional charge of ingesting marijuana.

FORT PIERRE — A Fort Pierre man facing felony and misdemeanor charges in four different incidents was released on bond Wednesday after completing alcohol treatment.

Magistrate Judge Mark Smith set a $5,000 bond for Flint Dahl, 22, but required Dahl to submit to twice-daily alcohol testing as a condition of his release.

Dahl, who face charges of stealing and harming a rodeo horse named Dually, is not allowed to consume (read more)

By David Montgomery
Capital Journal staff
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 – 02:50:27 am CST

By David Montgomery
Capital Journal staff
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, Sep 29, 2009 – 05:47:43 pm CDT

FORT PIERRE — A 22-year-old Fort Pierre man was arrested Tuesday on charges of stealing a rodeo horse named Dually and treating him inhumanely.

Flint David Dahl is charged with grand theft, a felony, and inhumane treatment of an animal, a misdemeanor.

Grand theft is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment in a state penitentiary and a fine of up to $20,000. Inhumane treatment of an animal is punishable by up to one year in a county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Advertisement

Dahl turned himself in Tuesday afternoon and was released after posting $5,000 bond.

No court date has been set.

An affidavit by Stanley County Deputy Sheriff Mike Rothschadl cites interviews with witnesses claiming to have seen Dahl riding a horse through Fort Pierre early in the morning of July 5. Several witnesses heard or saw the horse kicking vehicles and told investigators they saw the horse with numerous wounds.

Dually was recovered on Dahl’s father’s property.

Multiple witnesses present at the fairgrounds around 4 a.m. July 5 told investigators they had seen one individual — who was not charged — riding the horse around a pen. Dahl, who was present at the time, told investigators he took the horse believing it belonged to another friend who was present.

That individual denied telling Dahl the horse was his and said he did not know Dahl well, the affidavit said.

After Dahl left the fairgrounds riding Dually, numerous witnesses reported seeing Dahl and the horse around Fort Pierre between 5:45 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., including at a house on Two Rivers Street, a nearby house on Wandel Avenue, the sidewalk on Deadwood Street and outside the Cowboy Country Store on First Street.

Several witnesses reported seeing Dually with significant wounds, including bleeding legs, cuts and missing horse shoes. Witnesses also reported seeing Dahl riding the horse while it was injured.

Veterinarian Dr. Steve Tornberg told investigators Dually had suffered rope burns, minor lacerations, a quarter crack in a hoof and sore suspensory ligaments. Tornberg said he had not seen a horse with rope burns that numerous or serious in 30 years.

In the months since the incident, Halweg has said Dually is slowly recovering. Dually was released from the veterinary clinic Aug. 5.

The investigation into Dually’s disappearance took almost three months before an arrest warrant was signed. The affidavit shows interviews conducted through July 13 by Stanley County Sheriff’s Deputies and as recently as Sept. 16 by agents with the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

Later interviews appear to have been focused on tracking down false leads in the case. Investigators interviewed several people tracing the origin of a text message claiming Dually had been deliberately abused by being roped and dragged across the pavement.

DCI agents interviewed multiple people who claimed to have knowledge about how Dually received his injuries.

“None of these people were eyewitnesses and had merely repeated what they had heard,” the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, Dahl’s father Dave Dahl paid $2,400 for damage Dually had done to a car after Dahl had tied it up next to the vehicle.

As part of the investigation, DCI agents obtained Flint Dahl’s cell phone records on Sept. 15. One witness whose phone was called by Dahl early July 5 said Dahl had left voice mail messages talking about a horse.