BENITO COTTO COLON, horse trainer, arrested on accusations of kicking and punching a client’s horse

- Florida, USA -

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 34-year-old BENITO COTTO COLON (pictured).

According to the press release by the sheriff’s office, on January 15, 2026, Agriculture Investigator Justin McClure received an email from a woman who hired COTTO COLON approximately a year and a half ago to train and care for her horse, a Paso Fino named El Secreto de Besilu.

The woman stated that she had a video showing COTTO COLON “kicking and punching” El Secreto de Besilu and “aggressively pulling” on his/her bridle.

Investigator McClure viewed the video and according to the sheriff’s office, he “clearly observed Cotto Colon kicking the horse in the abdomen four times as the horse was showing obvious signs of distress and fear during the incident.”

During the course of the investigation, Investigator McClure found a Facebook post published by COTTO COLON in which he “admitted to being the person captured on video.” In the post, COTTO COLON claimed that the horse “nearly threw him off before the video was taken and acknowledges that his behavior was not appropriate for horse training.”

Based on the evidence and the findings of the investigation, probable cause was developed for the arrest of COTTO COLON. On January 16, 2026, Marion County Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Detective James Manning arrested COTTO COLON for animal cruelty.

COTTO COLON was booked into the Marion County Jail and following his first court appearance on January 17, 2026, he was released on a $1,000 bond.

The Agriculture Unit with the sheriff’s office along with a veterinarian examined El Secreto de Besilu who was found to be “healthy as a horse”, stated the press release.

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Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the press release by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.

In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.

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