Behind him he dragged a trail of bad publicity, illegal accounts and cases of neglect of horses.
And now he is back in the spotlight.
The former owner of Viegård Stutteri, John Byrialsen, is accused of offensive behavior in a new documentary that can be seen tonight on TV2 and right now on TV2 Play.
A large number of former employees and riding students are now featured in a new TV 2 documentary, ‘The nightmare at the stud’.
TV 2 has spoken to a total of 115 people who have worked for or received training from John Byrialsen.
One of the women you can see in the documentary is Gry Heitmann, who says, among other things, that:
– He hit me once in the face, where I had a bruise, and he hit me on the body, and then he terrorized me psychologically.
Of the 115, which include both men and women, 73 report that they have experienced abusive acts in the period 1988 to 2023. Most took place at Viegård Stutteri near Viborg, writes the TV station.
According to the former employees, the violations included everything from harsh tone and bullying to sexual harassment, violence and rape.
John Byrialsen himself denies all accusations, writes TV2.
Three women have chosen to report former stud owner John Byrialsen to the police for violence and rape respectively. Ritzau writes that.
One woman must appear for questioning, while the other two women have been told that their cases are time-barred.
From Viegård to Brovst
67-year-old John Byrialsen is a well-known face in equestrian sports. He is a former competition rider and has trained horses for many years.
John Byrialsen was the former owner of Viegård Stutteri, which went bankrupt in October 2023.
It happened after 12 unannounced visits to the stud, which led to four charges for violating the Animal Welfare Act. In total, he was charged with 35 matters.
John Byrialsen himself denies that he should have mistreated his horses.
50 buried horses were also found at Viegård Stud. An investigation from the University of Copenhagen subsequently showed that it could not be proven that the horses were starved.
After the bankruptcy, several horses from the disputed Viegård Stud were sold and shipped to a farm property in Brovst in North Jutland.
The company ALB 2024 ApS was behind the purchase and shipment of the horses.
The company was founded and owned by Anne Lise Balslev. The director is Hans Helmgaard Kristiansen, who has spent most of his life in Danish equestrian sports.
He was an active competitive rider for many years and was part of the Danish national team in show jumping. Later he became a widely used jumping coach.
Despite his experience from equestrian sports, Hans Helmgaard Kristiansen and John Byrialsen agreed to enter into a partnership, where John Byrialsen was to be a consultant at the newly established stud farm in Brovst.
Among other things because John Byrialsen was an “old fox in the trade”, explained Hans Helmgaard Kristiansen.
Several cases on the neck
John Byrialsen had Viegård Stutteri for 25 years until it closed.
He managed to get several cases on his neck before it ended in bankruptcy.
In total, he has paid DKK 665,000 in fines for grossly irresponsible treatment of horses.
The fines were given in the period 2011-2022.
In addition, a massive mess can be made in the accounts at Viegård Stutteri with everything from illegal shareholder loans to violations of VAT legislation and breaches of the Annual Accounts Act.
Among other things, John Byrialsen used a method of automatically writing up the value of his horses by 7,000 kroner a year. It is in violation of the Annual Accounts Act.
When he was exposed in the maneuver, the stud’s finances were suddenly disastrous.
2024-10-02 04:46:58
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