Alleged horse abuser Anthony Dean Thomas puts $3m Oakside Park Stud on the market

A decorated equestrian coach and alleged horse abuser has said he has made the “really hard decision” to sell his $3m stud farm.

Decorated Adelaide Hills equestrian coach and accused horse abuser Anthony Dean Thomas says he has made the “really hard decision” to sell his multimillion-dollar Oakside Park Stud, near Mount Barker.

The 45ha property, on Darby Rd, includes a four-bedroom homestead built in 1847, 40 paddocks “of varying sizes”, an all-weather equestrian arena and a floodlit tennis court.

Mr Thomas, 49, who is also being sued by rider Kate Crauford, 24, over sexual harassment claims, told the Sunday Mail the move was a “commercial decision”.

In a Facebook post announcing the Oakside Park sale, Mr Thomas said he “loved the house”, which he bought for $3m in 2014.

Equestrian rider Anthony Thomas has made the “really hard decision” to sell his multimillion-dollar Oakside Park Stud, near Mount Barker. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

“Over the last few months, I’ve taken time away to spend quality time with true friends and had time to discover who I am and discover the great people around me,” he posted.

“The great people know who they are and the shit, horrible, jealous people know who they are.”

Mr Thomas told the Sunday Mail he had a “new chapter” coming up but had “made a really hard decision to put Oakside Park Studup for sale”. He said the property was “wasted” with him as he “doesn’t have the time to enjoy it”.

Mr Thomas said it was a “commercial decision” to sell but also because he wanted a “change in my life”, emphasising it hadnothing to do with any of the claims made against him.

One of South Australia’s leading equestrian identities and a highly ran­ked show­jumper, Mr Thomas was provisionally suspended by Equestrian Australia in May – just days after footage emerged of him allegedly striking a horse with a helmet.

Mr Thomas purchased Oakside Stud Park in 2014 for $3m.

Mr Thomas initially publicly apologised via his lawyer to the equestrian community, saying he had “allowed a culmination of many traumatic events over the past six months to affect my mental health and interfere with my behaviour”.

Days later, Mr Thomas’s lawyer said his client did not issue an apology over the footage and “did not admit, as is assumed by EA (Equestrian Australia), that he was the person shown in the video”.

Mr Thomas resigned as a member of Equestrian SA, with his lawyer saying it meant “neither it nor EA has any jurisdiction to proceed against him”.

The RSPCA on Saturday confirmed that its investigation into the incident was ongoing.

Late last year, Ms Crauford launched Federal Court action against Mr Thomas.

Her court documents allege that as a teenager she was sexual harassed by him in the form of hundreds of inappropriate messages.

Mr Thomas has denied all allegations, insisting he always acted appropriately and that his messages were “friendly banter”.

The matter is set for trial at the end of the month.