25 Years Ago: Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw Arrested for Stealing a Horse

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When you think of Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, you don’t exactly think of a couple of country music “Outlaws.” Horse thievery isn’t exactly what comes to mind either, nor does disorderly conduct or assaulting a police officer. But all of these charges came into play when what started out as an innocent incident of horsing around turned into two of country music’s biggest stars getting hauled off in handcuffs. It would go down in infamy as “The Horse Incident.”

It happened on June 3rd, 2000, when Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney were performing at the George Strait Country Music Festival at the Buffalo Bills football stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Other performers on the bill included Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack and Asleep at the Wheel.

The incident started when Kenny Chesney saw the horse belonging to the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, but no rider. Tending to the horse was the daughter of one of the Sheriff’s Department personel, and Chesney asked her if he could mount it. Star struck, the daughter said yes, perhaps thinking Chesney would simply sit in the saddle, someone would snap a photo, and that would be that.

But that’s not what happened. Kenny Chesney rode off, with the daughter reportedly telling Chesney to stop. He didn’t. As Chesney galloped by a police car that saw he clearly was on a horse that didn’t belong to him, they ordered him to stop as well, but Kenny kept going.

One detail that seems to be missing from the story is if Kenny Chesney was openly defying the folks telling him to get off the horse, or if he was physically incapable of getting the horse to stop, either because the horse was freaked out from a stranger on its back, or because Chesney just didn’t really know what he was doing. According to Chesney, he tried to tell the deputies he had permission to be on the horse. But whether he actually did or not seemed very open for interpretation.

Either way, eventually two deputies decided they’d had enough of Kenny Chesney horsing around, and started trying to physically remove him from the horse. Not too far away, Tim McGraw was on his bus, and witnessed the deputies getting physical with his good friend Kenny. So McGraw darted off the bus, and started wrestling with the deputies, reportedly putting one in a choke hold at one point, and allegedly punching him as well.

Amid the melee, Tim McGraw’s manager Mark Russo also got involved. All three men were ultimately arrested, and arraigned. Chesney was charged with disorderly conduct and released on $100 bail. McGraw was charged with second-degree assault, obstructing governmental administration, menacing and resisting arrest. McGraw was released on $2,500 bail.

“Unfortunately, what was meant to be a totally innocent and fun gesture, was blown way out of proportion,” Kenny Chesney said at the time. “Tim McGraw and I have been friends for a very long time. When he saw me in danger of being harmed, he simply came over to help out his friend.”

But the Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors didn’t see it that way. The charges Kenny Chesney faced were minor, but the ones facing Tim McGraw were quite serious. Both men and McGraw’s manager all plead not guilty, and the matter was sent to trial.

In court, the attorney for the two country stars said the Sheriff’s Office was simply trying to save face from the embarrassment of blowing the matter way out of proportion. The Prosecutor said it was Tim McGraw’s ego that escalated the incident needlessly, resulting in a serious physical altercation.

Ultimately, the jury believed Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, and found both of them and manager Mark Russo not guilty on all charges on May 23rd, 2001.

Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney hugged each other after the verdict was read, and McGraw’s wife Faith Hill in the front row started crying. “We’ve been waiting eleven months to have our day in court,” McGraw told reporters outside of court. “The justice system works. We have nothing against the people of Buffalo. We’ll be back.”

What’s interesting about “The Horse Incident” is how it’s probably one of the biggest high profile moments in the history of country music where two stars got arrested and ran afoul of the law, but somehow the same country credibility that usually comes with such run-ins wasn’t conferred to either of the performers like it was for Johnny Cash or George Jones back in the day.

Perhaps that’s because it was the early ’00s era, and these things were no longer considered “cool.” Kenny and Tim were no Willie and Waylon. Perhaps it was because it truly was a silly misunderstanding, so there was nothing particularly “cool” about it. Or perhaps because the accusations was the two disrespected police officers which is frowned upon more in country, there was no reason to celebrate.

Nonetheless, the incident did become famous, but didn’t really hurt or help the legacy of either man. Kenny Chesney was just named the Modern Era inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many think just like with The Horse Incident, Tim McGraw will be coming up right behind Kenny Chesney in the Hall of Fame in the next few years.

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