Video: Kate Crauford tell all interview on horse trainer Anthony Thomas sexual harassment case
A rising equestrian star took a top trainer to court and won. Now, she shares the emotional journey from embarrassment to setting a new legal precedent.
Kate Crauford’s fight for justice has been an emotional journey, culminating in a landmark Federal Court case that set a legal line on sexual harassment.
The 25-year-old says she doesn’t want men walking on eggshells – she wants boundaries respected – and she’s sharing her story to help girls and women speak up, seek support and know it’s not their fault.
“I’d be so happy if it helps anyone,” Ms Crauford said.
“Hopefully, it gets them confident to at least tell their parents or talk about it.
“That’s the problem – no one talks about it because you feel embarrassed.
“No one wants to tell anyone ‘Hey, I got myself into a situation’. You feel like it’s your fault. So, it’s really important that people talk about it and know that it’s not your fault.”
When equestrian trainer Anthony Thomas approached Ms Crauford at a Mount Gambier showjumping competition in October 2020, she had no inkling of what would come next.
What followed was a series of messages – some of which the court found amounted to sexual harassment – over the course of several weeks, when Ms Crauford was 19 and Mr Thomas was 45.
He was a successful showjumping rider and coach as well as a member of the Equestrian SA jumping committee and a state jumping selector.
She was a talented rider who dreamt of a career in the sport.
Ms Crauford said she was venting to her mother, Sophie, at a Mount Gambier competition about how disappointed she was in her performance.
She said Mr Thomas, whom she barely knew, walked up, offering moral support.
Ms Crauford said he then asked her to help him during the competition, including videoing his performance.
Ms Crauford said she thought nothing of doing the favour – but little did she know what would unfold.
After she sent Mr Thomas the video, she said he started to send messages, which at first didn’t raise alarm bells.
“(They were) very much about my physique … how I had legs to die for and stuff like that,” she said.
Soon after, Ms Crauford was planning to head to a Sydney horseriding championship and Mr Thomas asked her if she could also transport his horse to the competition in her float.
Ms Crauford obliged – “I mean, it’s just a horse,” she thought, believing he was going to fly to Sydney.
But on the day she was setting off on the trip, having loaded up the horses, Mr Thomas got in the car to go with her.
About 24 hours into the trip, things took a turn, Ms Crauford said, when he made a sexual remark about an ex-partner, making her feel uncomfortable.
Ms Crauford said that on various occasions during the trip, in December 2020, Mr Thomas also gave her a prolonged hug, stood in a doorway wearing only a towel, and touched her leg while she was driving. Ms Crauford said that was the final straw.
“So, I called Mum that night, like ‘Can you please get up here … I don’t know what to do’,” she said.
Despite Covid-19 creating travel challenges, Mrs Crauford managed to book a flight to Sydney. United, the pair swiftly removed Mr Thomas’s gear and horse from Ms Crauford’s vehicle and stayed elsewhere.
By the time they returned to SA, Ms Crauford was determined to take a stand. After exhausting other avenues, she ended up in the Federal Court in 2023, claiming Mr Thomas had sexually harassed her.
“We knew it was a test case when we went in,” she said.
In October this year, Justice Stephen McDonald ordered Mr Thomas pay Ms Crauford $21,000 in damages after he found the equestrian trainer had sexually harassed her in “offensive, humiliating and intimidating” Facebook messages.
However, the court found the physical conduct and the sexually explicit comment about an ex-partner did not occur in circumstances in which sexual harassment laws could be applied.
“Ms Crauford did not do or say anything to suggest that she was romantically or sexually interested in Mr Thomas,” Justice McDonald said.
Ms Crauford’s barrister, Holly Veale, said at the time that Ms Crauford had pushed “the narrative that it is not OK for men in positions of power to take advantage of young women for their own benefits”.
Ms Crauford said “the whole point of it was to help others and not have someone else have it happen to them”.
“I don’t want people treading on eggshells around everyone, but there’s boundaries that people just make grey,” she said.
The findings of the court are made on the balance of probabilities, being the civil standard of proof. Sophie Crauford is “very proud” of her daughter.
“We’re sad that she’s gone through it, but we feel also that she can be someone that other girls can look up to,” she said.
Ms Crauford is advocating for sexual-harassment law changes to close loopholes and going back to Flinders University in 2026 to finish her last year of an international studies degree.
Mr Thomas was critical of the legal action and outcome.
“They’ve seen the opportunity to target myself, who is the most successful South Australian showjumper in history, having won 10 world cup qualifiers and seven state championships,” he said.
“All I’ve ever done all my life is to try to encourage and help not just younger riders but older riders to reach their goals.”
Mr Thomas said he would “like people to know how much these accusations have affected myself and my family”. “I would never wish it upon anyone, what I’m going through,” he said. “I want to reach out to any males going through the same or similar situation ... to please feel free to contact me and, hopefully, I can help you against these malicious sort of people.”
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Originally published as Video: Kate Crauford tell all interview on horse trainer Anthony Thomas sexual harassment case
