Ex-Olympian Shot Student, Claims Insanity, Now Seeks Sports Comeback

Dressage trainer Michael Barisone, who shot his student Lauren Kanarek at point-blank range in August 2019, is seeking a comeback in the equestrian world after being acquitted by reason of insanity. Barisone, 62, claims he has no memory of the incident, which left Kanarek, then 45, with a perforated lung and a mastectomy.

Barisone was released in 2023 after a period in a psychiatric ward, avoiding a potential ten-to-twenty year prison sentence. He has since filed lawsuits and expressed a strong desire to restore his reputation. In a recent interview, Barisone referred to Kanarek as "the scum of the earth" and described himself as a "terrific guy who snapped, as anyone would have." He also shared a letter from a supporter who called Kanarek "a giant of wickedness."

Barisone stated his ambition to return to competitive equestrianism, saying, "If this goes right—if I can make another team, a World Cup, a World Championship—I will be the biggest comeback story in the history of sports." He also declared his intention to appeal to political figures, stating, "I will get to Trump. And I will get this undone. Watch me."

The shooting occurred at Barisone's 60-acre horse farm in Long Valley, New Jersey, where Kanarek and her boyfriend, Rob Goodwin, were living and training. The incident was the culmination of an intense feud between trainer and student, which was later featured on the Netflix show "Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill."

Barisone's defense team successfully argued that he was temporarily insane at the time of the attack. According to reports, police had been called to the property multiple times in the ten days leading up to the shooting. Barisone's attorney had previously stated that Kanarek and Goodwin had harassed Barisone and filed a complaint against him with SafeSport, an Olympic and Paralympic anti-abuse organization.

Mary Haskins Gray, Barisone's girlfriend, claimed that Kanarek had made threats against her and Barisone on social media, stating they were "terrified of what it was building to." Kanarek, a United States Dressage Federation and US Equestrian Federation Olympic Bronze Medalist, admitted to writing "unflattering" things online but stopped short of calling them threats. She described Barisone's temperament as unpredictable, capable of being "hilariously funny, charming and nice" on one day, and angry or prone to screaming on another.

Following the shooting, Kanarek was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent extensive surgery. She testified that Barisone had threatened her and her fiancé during their time at the farm.