Former high-profile Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell has pleaded guilty under Tennessee’s anti-cruelty statute to maltreating 22 horses by soring them.

Soring is the deliberate injury to a horse’s feet and legs to achieve a high-stepping gait. The Horse Protection Act (HPA) forbids the practice on a federal level, and Tennessee state anti-cruelty laws also prohibits the practice.

Last year, under a plea agreement McConnell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the HPA. He is serving three years’ probation and was fined $75,000 in connection with that federal case.

On July 9, McConnell appeared before Tennessee Circuit Court Judge J. Weber McCraw to face the state charges against him. According to a circuit court clerk, McConnell pleaded guilty to 12 of the misdemeanor animal cruelty against him