Huntswoman caught on camera kicking and slapping horse is married primary school teacher 

A female foxhunter who was filmed appearing to punch and kick a horse is a married primary school teacher who is a team leader of her local Pony Club, MailOnline can reveal.

Sarah Moulds, 37 from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire is being investigated by the RSPCA after the shocking video sparked outrage online and was viewed more than two million times.

Moulds, a mother of two, is a teacher at Somerby Primary School and a director of the Knossington & Somerby Pre-School, Leicestershire.

Social media listings show that she is a team leader of the Cottesmore branch of the Pony Club in Leicestershire.

The video of her allegedly attacking a horse was shared by Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs, an anti-hunting campaign group, and has been condemned by the UK’s national body for hunting as well as campaigner Chris Packham.   

In the footage, a white horse trots away from the back of a horse trailer before it is stopped by a young rider.

A woman dressed in cream breeches and a navy jacket then grabs the reins of the horse before she kicks its torso and slaps it repeatedly in the face as it tries to pull away.

The Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs, who say they use ‘non-violent direct action to save wildlife’, shared the video on its Twitter page and tagged the RSPCA.   

The group said on Sunday that the incident took place on Saturday afternoon after a Cottesmore Hunt, one of the oldest hunts in Britain, and the incident demonstrated ‘violence running through their veins’. 

Cottesmore Hunt said it did not condone the actions shown in the video ‘under any circumstances’.

The group said it ‘will be reminding all of our supporters that this will not be tolerated,’ according to ITV.   

Mr Packham called on the RSPCA to ‘urgently investigate and definitively prosecute this appalling abuse – thus upholding our standards of animal welfare protection’. 

Meanwhile, BBC Springwatch presenter and zoologist Megan McCubbin said the footage showed ‘disgusting behaviour’. She said: ‘Yet another ugly side of an activist some call “sport”.’ 

Anne Brummer, the CEO of animal welfare organisation Save Me Trust, said: ‘Absolutely disgusting, she should be prosecuted and not allowed near a horse again. No one around her seems socked, what is wrong with these people.’

The RSPCA, who said the footage was ‘really upsetting’, has also confirmed it is launching an investigation into the incident after the video sparked outrage online.

The charity acknowledged it had been made aware and said: ‘This footage is upsetting. We will always look into, and if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.

‘We would urge anyone with first hand information about this incident to contact us on 0300 123 4999.’

Meanwhile, the Hunting Office has criticised the footage and said the perpetrator does not belong to its hunting associations, according to ITV.

The governing body told the news outlet that ‘it expects the highest level of animal welfare at all times – both on and off the hunting field – and condemns the actions taken by this individual, who is not a member of the hunting associations’. 

The reputation of hunting in the UK was damaged last month after a prominent huntsman was convicted of giving advice to countrymen about how to covertly carry out illegal fox hunts.  

Mark Hankinson, the 60-year-old director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of encouraging or assisting others to commit an offence and ordered to pay £3,500. 

He was charged after footage from two webinars held in August last year for MFHA was obtained by anti-hunting activists who passed it to the media and the police.  

Hankinson told members of the Hunting Office to use legal trail hunting where horseback riders and hounds follow a previously laid scent, as a ‘smokescreen’ for criminal activity, the court heard.

Trail hunting replicates a traditional hunt without a fox actually being chased, injured or killed, and although there is always a danger that hounds will accidentally come across the scent of a fox, they should then be stopped to avoid this becoming a criminal offence. 

In the clips he acknowledged that trail hunting, which was devised in the wake of the Act to replicate the outlawed sport, was a cover for the chasing and killing of foxes.

Under the rules, horseback riders with dogs can legally follow trails laid with scent, instead of chasing a live animal. However, if hounds were to pick up the scent of a fox and chase it as a result of the trail, then there are no legal consequences.

In one webinar he told members: ‘It’s effectively illegal to intentionally hunt a wild mammal with more than two dogs but you will see there’s quite a few exemptions.

‘So obviously trail hunting, which is our main card, is a critical one, but that trail hunting needs to be visible and credible and those involved need to be robust when questioned.’

He added: ‘Some people say, ‘What’s the point in laying trails?’ But I think it’s fairly self-explanatory. If you haven’t laid a trail you won’t be covered by insurance… Don’t forget it’s a much more serious offence to commit perjury in court than commit offences under the Hunting Act.’