Horse Injures 11 at School Halloween Party

A horse apparently spooked by loud music and gusts of wind barreled through a playground full of children Friday, injuring 11 people attending a San Fernando Valley elementary school Halloween party, authorities said.

Two students at Castlebay Lane Elementary School, a student’s teenage sister and a mother were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries, said Los Angeles Fire Department officials.

“The horse trampled right over people,” said parent Lori Choi. “It looked pretty bad.”

Presence of the horse on campus had not been authorized, said Castlebay Principal Robert Caplan. “There must be approval to have any type of animal on campus, and I didn’t give approval for this,” he said.

The fifth-grade teacher riding the horse, Randi Lieber, said she had been given permission by the principal to bring the horse to the party.

“He came into our class. I told him what we were doing and asked if it would be OK if I sat on a horse while it was led in. He said it was fine,” she said.

Lieber rode the horse onto the playground about 2 p.m. in the grand finale of Castlebay’s annual Halloween party, witnesses said. Each class at the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school was supposed to parade around the playground in costume and then sit down on the asphalt to watch the other classes.

The fifth-graders were at the end of the line, dressed in western gear and followed by the white horse, which Lieber said belonged to one of her students.

As soon as the horse stepped into the crowd of squirming children and their parents, it got scared, parents and students said. Halloween music was blasting, children were yelling and gusts of wind cut through the playground.

“He got scared when he heard the music and started jumping up and down,” said 10-year-old Emmanuel Pakroo.

Lieber jumped off as the horse bolted and careened into a group of parents and children. Another teacher tried to grab the reins but was shaken off, parents said.

The horse trampled a 48-year-old mother, Amanda Sanchez of Porter Ranch. She was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where she was listed in fair condition Friday evening with a concussion and facial cuts, hospital nursing supervisor Karen Klein said.

Also hospitalized were the 18-year-old sister of a student, a 10-year-old boy whose cheek was cut by the horse’s hoof, and a 9-year-old girl. All were listed in good condition Friday evening. Seven other students were treated at the school for scrapes and bruises.

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Times staff writer Irene Garcia contributed to this story.