Stormy Daniels is jockeying to regain custody of a beloved horse from a former friend whom she has accused of secretly selling and then buying the equine herself, while she was boarding it in a stable in Texas, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The porn star, who is inextricably linked to Donald Trump, is suing Southern Cross Equestrian, a horse boarding stable in Terrell – 30 miles east of Dallas – as well as owner Michelle Cheney, who had been keeping her competitive horse, Leo, under pasture care since late 2020.
But, Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, now claims Cheney concocted a scheme to take ownership of 13-year-old Leo back in March by quietly placing a lien on the Dutch Warmblood that allowed the stable owner to buy him at a 'nominal price'.
The 44-year-old, who moved from Texas to live in Florida with new husband Barrett Blade, 49, also says she now fears Cheney will 'conceal, dispose, or remove' Leo, a 16-hand bay, and is demanding to have the horse promptly returned to her.
Stormy Daniels is suing Southern Cross Equestrian, a stable in Terrell, Texas, where she had been boarding her beloved horse Cooley Renaissance Man, aka, 'Leo' since late 2020
The former porn actress, who is also an avid equestrian, is demanding her horse be returned to her in Florida after it was put up for public sale in March
Stable keeper Michelle Cheney has countersued Daniels claiming she failed to pay her outstanding bills for Leo's care
The lawsuit, filed last month and obtained by DailyMail.com, has resulted in a counterclaim by Cheney, who fired back by accusing Daniels of saddling her with unpaid bills totaling $10,000 after 'routinely' failing to pay the horse's boarding fees and expenses on time.
Daniels, who lived in Forney, 12 miles from Terrell, is an avid equestrian who has owned at least eight horses. She first purchased Leo – who was formerly known as 'Fair Play' and competes as 'Cooley Renaissance Man' – in Ireland in June 2016.
But in the fall of 2020, she made the decision to place Leo on pasture care at Southern Cross Equestrian for $350 a month after the horse contracted a neurological condition known as EPM.
Daniels had used the facility in the past and had become friends with Cheney, 51, as a result of 'their mutual interest and ownership of horses,' she says.
Her arrangement with the boarding stable changed in January 2021, when Cheney offered to 'pick the tab up' on Leo's board and farrier in exchange for rights to lease him out to other riders, the lawsuit states.
Cheney pointed out that the deal would benefit both parties as it would allow Leo, who had been 'sitting in our paddock getting fat', to be more active.
According to the papers, Daniels relied on Cheney's 'representation' as the owner of the stable that if she 'allowed Southern Cross to monetize Leo, which would also provide Leo more opportunities for exercise and enjoyment, then [Daniels] would not owe money for Leo's board and farrow.'
Under the new agreement, Southern Cross began leasing Leo to riders that year and throughout the summer, during which Cheney had informed clients that the horse was not for sale, Daniels claimed.
Daniels, who previously lived in Texas, made the decision to put Leo in pasture care at Southern Cross after he contracted a neurological condition in the fall of 2020
The horse was boarded at the stables at a rate of $350 a month but when Daniels moved to Florda she wanted to take it with her
Daniels's arrangement with Southern Cross changed in January 2021, when Cheney offered to lease out Leo to other riders in exchange for boarding and farrier, the lawsuit states
The agreement continued up until February this year, when Daniels informed Cheney she planned to relocate Leo to Florida
According to Daniels, Cheney never sent her a 'final bill' and instead placed a lien on Leo before putting him up for 'public sale', where the stable keeper then purchased him herself in March
Michelle Cheney poses with one of her horses at Southern Cross Equestrian
The arrangement continued up until February when Daniels moved into a horse farm near Ocala, Florida, with her fourth husband and told Cheney she planned to relocate Leo.
According to the lawsuit, Cheney responded: 'Sure, I'll put together your final bill and send that to you. Once we settle up, you're free to take Leo.'
However, Daniels claims she 'was not aware of any outstanding bill' at that time and understood that the last board bill from their initial agreement had been paid in full in December 2020.
'Regardless of what the "final bill" would apply to, [Daniels] was willing to promptly satisfy any genuine or honest claim and made efforts to learn what the putative claim was in order to promptly pay over the ensuing weeks,' her suit states.
'[Daniels] neither knew that Defendants claimed there were charges due and owing as it related to the care of Leo nor did she know what the amount claimed to be due and owing was so she could pay it.'
From that point forward, Daniels claims, Cheney nor anyone acting on Southern Cross's behalf ever sent her a bill or told her how much she owed.
When she eventually followed up on February 26 asking for 'the total' so she could pick Leo up, Cheney suggested they talk the next day citing 'things' they had to 'work through' before she could send the full bill, the suit states.
But Daniels later learned that Cheney had actually issued a stableman's lien on the horse 'in an amount still not known' to her, and subsequently held a public sale of Leo on March 3.
'Unsurprisingly, the "public" sale resulted in Cheney being the only bidder, allowing her to buy Leo for a nominal price,' Daniels's lawsuit states.
Daniels, a life long equestrian, often showcases her love for horses and riding on social media, where she once shared a photo of Leo chomping on a doll of her nemesis, Donald Trump
She owns several horses in addition to Leo, who is formerly known as 'Fair Play' and competes as 'Cooley Renaissance Man' – and who she purchased in Ireland in June 2016
Stormy Daniels rides a horse in a photo posted to her Instagram on February 18, 2018
Daniels is now demanding damages of up to $75,000 , as well as her legal fees.
She is also seeking a sequestration bond and an order of delivery of Leo, who she claims now has a 'lessened' present value of $5,000, due to Cheney's 'actions.'
Cheney, meanwhile, has contested her suit, accusing Daniels of racking up a five-figure bill with Southern Cross and failing to pay the outstanding balance.
According to her counterclaim obtained by DailyMail.com, Daniels had already owed nearly $10,000 in early 2020 – before Leo became ill – for 'board, farrier, and health care fees' for Leo as well as a second horse, Fella.
Southern Cross's legal team sent her a notice regarding the outstanding invoice in January 2021 warning her that the stable keeper had issued a lien on Leo for the amount owed and could foreclose it to sell the horse in at public sale after the bill goes unpaid for 60 days.
Daniels managed to pay her debts by the facility's deadline of February 20, 2021 and continued boarding her horses and paying her bills, although, the countersuit notes, 'not always timely nor consistently, for the next several months, sometimes missing months of payments at a time.'
In fact, Cheney and Southern Cross claim, Daniels is yet to pay two invoices from November and December 2020, totaling $1,285.
Southern Cross foreclosed its stableman's lien on Leo and held a public sale on March 3, when Cheney 'was the higher bidder' and therefore took 'legal ownership' of the horse
In her counterclaim, Cheney does not dispute that she and Daniels had agreed to lease Leo out in exchange for boarding, but notes Stormy was still being billed for outstanding invoices
Cheney and Southern Cross claim, Daniels is still yet to pay two invoices from November and December 2020, totaling $1,285
The suit does not dispute that Cheney and Daniels had agreed to lease Leo out in exchange for boarding after January 2021, but notes that the deal was separate to the unpaid invoices and mounting late fees that she still owed.
'At no point did Defendants ever represent that November 2020 or December 2020's unpaid balances were forgiven or washed away in this new deal,...' the suit states.
'The continued invoices reiterated the fact that the November and December bills were outstanding, and Stormy never once questioned or denied the outstanding invoices.'
The company also confirmed it foreclosed its stableman's lien on Leo and held a public sale at which Cheney 'was the higher bidder' and therefore took 'legal ownership' of the horse.
DailyMail.com reached out to Cheney's lawyers for comment.
Daniels has spoken publicly about her equestrian background in previous interviews, revealing she grew up in a rough neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she developed a passion for riding horses and writing.
In 2018 she earned a spot on Vanity Fair's Hall of Fame after she was photographed posing on a horse for a spread in the magazine shot by Annie Leibowitz.
She also often showcases her love for horses and riding on social media, where she once shared a photo of Leo chomping on a doll resembling her nemesis, Donald Trump.
The horse has even appeared in one of her X-rated films called Unbridled, which is based on a retired equestrian who returns to competing to save her family's ranch.
The adult film star grew up in a rough neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she developed a passion for riding horses and writing
Daniels currently lives on a horse farm near Ocala, Florida with husband Barrett Blade, who she married in December
Daniels, who gained notoriety after claiming she was paid to stay quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, recently admitted she regrets going public after she and her family, and even her horses, faced death threats as a result.
Speaking to UK TV morning show Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid last week, she said she came forward 'to set an example for my daughter and other young women so that she grows up and says, "my mom wasn't bullied and the people in power can't bully you or control you".
But she also admitted that the threats made against her had increased, alleging Trump supporters climbed her fence and attacked her horse, Redemption, earlier this month.
The former president himself has launched scathing attacks against Daniels on social media, including his claims earlier this year that he was the victim of a 'Stormy "Horse Face" Daniels extortion plot'.
Trump was later indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on a string of charges relating to the case, on March 30.
Daniels told Piers Morgan she was riding her horse called Redemption at the time she heard the news.
'I'm straddling a horse named Redemption when he got indicted. Redemption is his name. I can't make this up,' she said in an interview shared in April.
She said she received that horse as a 44th birthday present in March.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2Bc32Tamlxb1%2BIwbC%2BzLJkfZmenrKtv4ysrJ6rXZu8s7nEq2Sfqpmau6V5z66rraGenHqjscuorZ6cXZ28s7%2FEZpium6SevK96x62kpQ%3D%3D