Interview with the owner of a Watsonville, California-based non-profit horse rescue exposes allegations of theft and deceit on the part of Tara Reade.

Tara Reade (McCabe) at Pregnant Mare Rescue (left), Former Vice President Joe Biden (right)

“Look, this isn’t about protecting women. This isn’t about the #metoo movement. This isn’t about Joe Biden. This is about truth. Tara Reade stole from me. She lied to me. She stole from my organization. She manipulated me and she duped me. I want that to be shared because it’s important information. And I have documentation, images and emails to prove it.” — Lynn Hummer, Founder/President of Pregnant Mare Rescue and self-proclaimed ‘feminist’

Since Alexandra Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden have come to light, careful examination of her account unveils more questions than answers.

Three weeks ago, we reported on the many contradictions in Reade’s account, as well as the extreme changes in her attitude toward the former vice president. She has evolved from a woman who repeatedly praised Joe Biden for work he’s done to help end sexual assault in America, in 2017, to someone who now says Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993.

Now we’ve obtained new information concerning Tara Reade’s character, from a non-profit organization based in Watsonville, California, called Pregnant Mare Rescue (PMR). Lynn Hummer, Founder/President of the highly-rated horse sanctuary that’s committed to rescuing pregnant mares and orphan foals from abuse, tells us that Tara Reade (McCabe) volunteered at her rescue for a couple of years (from 2014–2016). During this time, Hummer alleges that Reade “stole from her nonprofit, lied, and created stories to obtain sympathy and money.”

We’ve also obtained receipts and emails that back up many of Hummer’s claims.

Tara Reade Begins Working for Pregnant Mare Rescue in June 2014

In June of 2014 Tara Reade began volunteer work for Pregnant Mare Rescue (PMR), after sending an email (which we have obtained) to Lynn Hummer. The email read as follows:

Email sent from Tara Reade (McCabe) in June of 2014 to PMR

Reade sent the above email to Hummer after an article ran in the local newspaper stating that PMR was looking for a replacement to run the rescue. Soon thereafter, Reade was hired on a volunteer basis.

Tara Reade’s time at Pregnant Mare Rescue is Marred with Allegations of Deceit & Theft

“I was duped by [Tara Reade],” Hummer tells us. “I was ripped off by her, not only on a personal level to the tune of $800 or $900, but my organization lost $1400. Those aren’t small betrayals. She’s a master manipulator and it took me a while to figure out.”

Tara McCabe, volunteering at PMR between 2014–2016 (image obtained from Lynn Hummer)

According to Hummer’s account, it didn’t take long for Reade to begin manipulating her. Whether it was Reade trying to convince Hummer to allow her to hide her vehicle on the ranch in order to avoid repossession, or Reade’s repeated requests for money, Hummer began to see a pattern forming.

“She is a very smart woman. She duped me. She was very manipulative,” Hummer repeated.

At one point in time, Reade requested that Hummer start a Gofundme campaign and ask PMR’s donors to contribute so that Reade could afford to flee to Georgia in order to escape her ex-husband. Hummer declined, but says Reade was able to convince another individual to create the campaign for her under an apparent fake name. It’s worth noting that the current Gofundme campaign is still soliciting money to this day, and has raised over $3,500.

Tara Reade Allegedly Tried Stealing Items From a Charity Auction/Raffle

In February of 2015, Pregnant Mare Rescue held a charity event, featuring singer and songwriter Lacy J. Dalton. The event raised money for the organization through a raffle as well as a silent auction. During this event, Hummer recounts:

“Reade had helped me with the fundraiser. She was pilfering off the table and sticking the items under the cloth, under the table, trying to steal and take them home.”

Thomas Bately, who was, and still is a volunteer at PMR, also recalls that night, and Reade’s actions.

What I saw was that she wanted one of the (raffle) prizes, put her ticket in the jar, and then hid the jar until it was time for the drawing. She rigged the drawing so she would get the prize she wanted for the price of one ticket.

Tara Reade Billed Personal Services to the Non-profit and Refused to Pay Them Back

According to Hummer, Tara Reade has a history of manipulation and deceit. Whether it was asking to hide her car on the ranch in order to avoid repossession, or if it was asking the organization to waive adoption fees for a horse, there was always some sort of manipulation going on.

While Hummer views most of these actions by Reade as just annoyances, there were instances where it went beyond annoying, and became, in Hummer’s view, “illegal” activity.

During her time at PMR, Tara Reade became very fond of one horse named Charm. In 2015, Reade convinced Hummer to waive the adoption fees and let her adopt Charm free of charge. In March of 2015, it was time for Reade to take official ownership of the horse, after he was gelded. Hummer helped find a place to board Charm since Reade did not have a place of her own to keep him at.

Reade eventually found boarding for her horse on Calabasas Road in Watsonville, not far from PMR.

A year had passed, and Charm needed a medical/dental exam, but Reade apparently didn’t have the money or didn’t want to pay for the work herself, so, as Hummer puts it, she “drummed up a scheme,” in order to get PMR to pay for the bill without Hummer’s knowledge. This was a tricky feat though, considering all of the vets in Santa Cruz County were familiar with PMR, and knew exactly where they were located.

“She called Steinbeck Equine Hospital, which is in a different county in Salinas,” Hummer tells us. “And she said, ‘I need to have a vet come up and take care of my horse.’ And so they scheduled an appointment. And the vet arrived (at the ranch where Charm was being boarded) and Reade proceeded to tell them that she was Pregnant Mare Rescue and to just send the bill to them. She proceeded to have $1400 worth of work done on her horse.”

Below are the receipts, specifically showing that Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic did work on “Charm,” and then billed Lynn Hummer’s PMR directly for over $1400 worth of work.

The work included an examination, sedation and vaccines on April 5, 2016, and tooth extraction, sedation, nerve blocks, and the administration of medication, among other things on April 19, 2016. The total cost was $1420.40.

“My bookkeeper paid them unsuspecting because of course it was an equine vet bill,” Hummer tells us.

Tara Reade looks on (left) as a Veterinarian works to close a giant wound that Charm received from a wild animal.

After Reade refused to pay the bill, Hummer publicly blasted her on Facebook.

“I had had enough of her begging for help financially, stuffing auction items under the table at a fundraiser, her life always being in crisis, and her asking me for any kind of assistance she could garner,” Hummer tells us. “I gifted her the horse, Charm, because I was constantly reminded (by her) of how much she was doing. When she had an out of county vet come to provide for her horse, and then ‘bill it’ to PMR, I lost my temper. Hence my blasting her.”

Reade then sent an email to Lynn Hummer and her volunteer assistant at the time, Betty Johnson, attacking her for causing such a commotion over the apparent theft. Below you can see part of the email sent from Reade to Hummer and Johnson, essentially confirming that this took place. (Note: Some of the email is redacted to protect Reade’s personal details and issues at the time.)

Email from Tara Reade (McCabe) to PMR (Note: Some of Reade’s personal details and issues have been redacted)

While Reade repeatedly said that she would pay PMR back, Hummer says that it never happened.

Hummer understands that $1400 is not a huge sum of money, but acknowledges that her and her husband don’t have large incomes. While she puts her own sweat and tears into PMR, she believes it’s her duty to come forward with this information.

“It’s still illegal and not okay to do,” says Hummer. “And it speaks, I think volumes, to her character. It’s ridiculous.”

Reade Bragged About her Work for Biden

Lynn Hummer never remembers Reade mentioning any sexual assault by Joe Biden, but does recall that she did mention she was a victim of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband.

When it comes to any mention of Biden, Hummer says it was always positive in nature.

Hummer recounts that Reade would say, “You know, I used to work for Biden. I did a great deal of work for him on his campaign.”

Hummer, who is a self-proclaimed feminist, and who has a family member who was a victim of rape, posed the question to us of: “Why would you talk about someone like that in such a positive way, in such a positive light, if this is someone who attacked you?”

Tara Reade Denies the Allegations

We reached out to Tara Reade for comment on multiple occasions, but she refused. She did, however, address some of Hummer’s claims on Twitter, by threatening legal action and claiming that Hummer was just trying to get money.

“Ask about multiple County citations of animal neglect by this place (PMR) she is trying to get money,” Reade tweeted

Reade then seemingly threatened Hummer in another tweet, seen below:

It’s worth noting that the emails and bills provided to us, and many of which are seen in this article, seem to corroborate the exact allegations that Reade is threatening to sue Hummer over.

Reade also went on the attack after Hummer made a tweet informing Joan Walsh of The Nation that Reade had stolen from her. Reade seems to strangely accuse Walsh of paying Hummer to manufacture these allegations.

“Look, this isn’t about protecting women,” says Hummer. “This isn’t about the #metoo movement. This isn’t about Joe Biden.. This is about truth. Tara Reade stole from me. She lied to me. She stole from my organization. She manipulated me and she duped me. I want that to be shared because it’s important information. And I have documentation, images and emails to prove it.”

Pregnant Mare Rescue has an impeccable record

While Reade claims, without any evidence or even details that Hummer “runs scams,” it’s worth noting that Hummer’s organization has 5 star ratings on virtually every online resource available.

They are rated 4.9/5 on Facebook, 5/5 on Google, and 5/5 on greatnonprofits.org.