Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by Grace McNally, Netflix’s ‘Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill’ is a documentary chronicling a 2019 incident that left the entire equestrian community shaken to its core. It was on the rainy day of August 7 when former Olympian Michael Barisone pulled the trigger on his dressage trainee, Lauren Kanarek, at his property on 411 Westmill Drive in New Jersey. The latter’s then-fiancé, Robert Goodwin, was also shot during the ordeal, but he still managed to overpower and restrain the assailant until help arrived – thankfully, all parties survived.
Lauren Kanarek Has Been a Horse Girl Almost Her Entire Life
Born into a supportive family as one of three girls, Lauren Kanarek had a unique exposure to different kinds of worlds at a relatively early age, thanks to her then-Wall Street Attorney father. She was thus merely 3 or 4 years old when she fell in love with horses after riding one for the first time, recognizing their unwavering beauty, charm, elegance, and power. Little did anyone know her quiet love would soon evolve into loud ambition, driving her loving father, Jonathan Kanarek, to buy her a horse of her own after she graduated from high school.
That’s when Lauren admittedly learned true responsibility, having to take care of them by herself, which furthered her passion and ultimately led her to find her calling in dressage. Her family didn’t particularly understand the art behind the sport or how she didn’t get bored simply riding around, yet they supported her every step of the way. In fact, it was reportedly her father who financed much of her early career and training, including everything from competition entry fees to horses to horse groomers to transportation costs.
Lauren was able to not only participate in several amateur events but also thrive in them before turning professional, once she believed she had the skills and talent to do so. She gradually achieved notable success, earning a US Dressage Federation Bronze Medal and the title of US Equestrian Federation Silver Stirrups National Grand Champion in 2016. However, since she desired the journey to the top level, she decided to get training from someone who had already experienced it, leading her to Michael Barisone.
Lauren Kanarek’s Bitter Disputes With Her Trainer Almost Turned Fatal
At the age of 37, Lauren was excited to gain knowledge from someone who had been in the industry a lot longer than she had, while also having long embraced the behind-the-scenes aspects. Therefore, under the reference of her then-trainer, she made her way to Olympic athlete-turned-trainer Michael’s Hawthorne Hill ranch in Long Valley, New Jersey. According to both their accounts, everything was going smoothly between them until she and his then-girlfriend/employed trainee started getting into arguments that quickly turned bitter.
Then came drama over the purchase of a horse and Michael repeatedly calling the police on Lauren, who was residing with her fiancé in a small home on the property, as per the training contract. According to court records, he described their situation as “war” before attempting to label the couple as squatters to have them evicted, but he never once directly asked them to leave. He was told these issues were civil and that they should try to solve them themselves, yet he continued contacting various avenues and once ominously stated that the duo was “going to be dealt with.”
On the other hand, Lauren took to social media to describe alleged harassment as well as surveillance at Michael’s ranch and even reached out to the Center of SafeSport to report him for the same. She also used many chess/war analogies on Facebook, which were later argued in court as having placed psychological strain on the athlete and causing him to snap on August 7, 2019. After all, that’s the day he took a 9mm gun, loaded it, drove to the couple’s short-term home, and shot his trainee twice in the chest at point-blank range before pulling the trigger once on Robert.
Lauren Kanarek Testified Against Her Shooter in Court
Lauren and Michael’s growing animosity was no secret to those around them, considering he spoke with attorneys to remove her from his estate, and she bugged his home in the name of protection. However, no one could have imagined the extent to which it would go, with the final straw allegedly being Child Protective Services showing up to ask the latter’s girlfriend about the safety of her kids. It was somehow the former herself who managed to dial 911 to report the shooting while her fiancé pinned down their assailant nearby, confronting him about what had just happened.
“When you’re shot at point-blank range, and bullets just go through you, you’re still walking around,” Lauren candidly elucidated to The Post. “The damage is happening, but you’re not feeling it happening.” By the time authorities arrived at the scene, though, she was pale, lying on the floor, and barely breathing since she had started losing a lot of blood, so she was immediately rushed to the hospital. According to records, she was taken into emergency surgery because she suffered a life-threatening injury to her left lung, and officials questioned both Robert and Michael while also providing them treatment for their wounds.
Lauren was placed in a medically induced coma for days because of how much pain doctors believed her to be in and how much care she needed, especially as her respiratory system had been affected. Even after she awoke, she remained in the hospital for a month for further healing, dressing of the sensitive 10-inch scar on her torso, and physical therapy to relearn almost all basic functions. That’s when she decided she would speak out against her attacker in court, which is precisely what she did, but to no avail. In the end, although it was admitted that Michael pulled the trigger, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
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Lauren Kanarek Continues to Advocate for Herself by Sharing Her Story With the World
Lauren’s physical road to recovery has been slow and steady, but she continues to grapple with the mental side of it because it is still hard for her to accept that Michael was found not guilty. That’s because while the verdict of insanity doesn’t prove innocence, it does relieve the defendant of criminal responsibility by affirming they had a severe mental disorder or were in psychosis at the time of the crime. Therefore, the professional dressage competitor who managed to get back on her beloved horses again in early 2023 continues to share her story with the world to shine a light upon precisely what happened to her and why.
Lauren had once been very active on social media, but she has since set all her profiles to private because she couldn’t see any more comments blaming her for her own shooting. She had documented the landlord-tenant dispute on her Facebook and penned “I’m afraid,… I’m being bullied” five days before the attack, as per the show, so she can not wrap her head around how some think her being shot at was okay. According to records, the then-North Carolina resident had one cyberstalking charge pending against her at the time of the crime, but it is unclear what eventually became of it.
Regarding Lauren’s current standing, it appears she has happily tied the knot with professional horse groomer Robert Goodwin and is enjoying married life on a ranch somewhere. She is also a proud animal mom to 6 horses and 2 dogs. From what we can tell, she is presently affiliated with or is a loyal customer of the brand Kingsland Equestrian. It’s also imperative to note that no official Equestrian/Dressage body has taken any action against her, so it is likely that she continues to be an active part of the sport in the hopes of continuing to participate in various events. Moreover, in a public letter Lauren released in April 2026, ahead of the release of her ‘Untold’ special, she asserted, “I will never fully recover from what happened to me on August 7, 2019. But I will continue to speak out – not just for me, but for every woman who has been threatened, misrepresented, and harmed. I was the victim. I am the survivor. Lies will not erase the truth.”
