Explore XR Crossroads Ranch
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The Horses of XR
Partners built with integrity, transparency, and skill.
Every horse at XR Crossroads Ranch is trained and cared for with measurable standards. Each listing includes full veterinary records, DNA verification, and behavioral evaluations, ensuring the buyer knows exactly who they’re partnering with. Developed in our Forensic Horsemanship program, our horses reflect quiet minds, sound bodies, and steady hearts.
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Professional Forensic Continuing Education & Mounted Forensics Operations Training
Developing investigators, responders, and mounted teams.
XR is home to LPA’s International Forensics Institute and hosts forensic education and NASAR SAR Academy certification courses. Coming soon, Pettler’s Mounted Forensic Operations System (MFOS) will connect online coursework with practical training for horses and riders at the ranch.
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True Crime & Equines™
Forensic investigation, storytelling, and ranch life.
Join Dr. Laura Pettler and featured experts for experiences that bring true crime and horses together. From Adult and Kids CSI Horse Camps to the True Crime & Equines™ Speaker Series and Pet & Paint Nights, CSI Yellowstone Retreats and explore investigation while meeting the horses of XR.
“My mission is clear: pursue truth for those who can no longer speak, seek answers for the families left behind, and stand up for animals failed by people. Through investigation, education, and the work we do at Crossroads Ranch, I turn that mission into action.”
LPA Headquarters at XR Crossroads Ranch
Where Forensic Innovation Meets Field Application
Located in Monroe, North Carolina, XR Crossroads Ranch is the headquarters of Laura Pettler & Associates, a forensic technology company with an elite forensic investigative arm, professional education programs, and specialized forensic equipment. Founded by forensic criminologist and lifelong equestrian Dr. Laura Pettler, XR brings together the company’s investigative work, technology, education, mounted operations development, and media production on a working horse farm. It is also home to her True Crime & Equines™ experiences, connecting visitors with forensic experts, horses, and ranch life.
Professional Education at XR
The Laura Pettler & Associates International Forensics Institute brings law enforcement officers, coroners, forensic professionals, and other investigative practitioners to XR for education that connects classroom instruction with practical application.
The ranch provides space for investigative scenarios, reconstruction exercises, structured case analysis, and hands-on instruction. Training draws on the expertise of Dr. Pettler and LPA’s multidisciplinary Roundtable of Experts, with subjects including crime scene staging, death investigation, shooting incident reconstruction, bloodstain pattern analysis, and the Murder Room Method.
Online education through LPAIFI.com extends these learning opportunities beyond the ranch.
Mounted Forensic Operations & Search and Rescue
In 2025, XR served as the official equestrian training center for Coroner Karla Deese’s Lancaster County Coroner’s Office Mounted Response Unit. That work helped establish the ranch’s role in preparing horses and riders for the demands of mounted field operations. LPA now hosts National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) SAR Academy certification courses at XR and is developing Pettler’s Mounted Forensic Operations System (MFOS), a multidisciplinary training and operational development system for law enforcement and civilian mounted units. With NASAR’s SARTECH III serving as its core search and rescue foundation, MFOS connects foundational SAR knowledge with forensic horsemanship, mounted reconnaissance and searching, evidence preservation, operational coordination, and horse-and-rider development.
Coming soon, riders and their horses will be able to train at XR with MFOS instructors, including Charlotte Cannon, Jimmie Canfield, Brad Dennis, Steven Moseley, Chris Herman, Douglas Young, Dr. Michael McCutcheon, Dr. Kenny Kinsey, retired District Attorney Michael Parker, Dr. Laura Pettler, and other LPA experts. Mounted forensic coursework will also be available online through LPAIFI.com.
The Home of True Crime Agritourism
Dr. Pettler’s True Crime & Equines™ Ecosystem
Created by Dr. Pettler, True Crime & Equines™ brings forensic investigation, storytelling, and equine interaction together at XR. Through the True Crime & Equines™ Speaker Series, Adult CSI Horse Camp, Kids CSI Horse Camp, and True Crime Pet & Paint Nights, guests explore their interest in investigation while experiencing life on a working horse farm. Featured events introduce participants to forensic experts and true crime personalities, along with opportunities to meet Dr. Pettler’s Gypsy Vanner and Friesian horses. These experiences offer a distinctive way to learn, ask questions, and spend time with people who share an interest in cases, horses, and the work behind the stories.
The Horses of XR
Horses are central to life at Crossroads Ranch. Their education, care, and development inform Dr. Pettler’s Forensic Horsemanship work and the ranch’s mounted training and public experiences. Dr. Pettler’s approach emphasizes observation, consistent training, and an understanding of each horse as an individual. From young horses developing foundational skills to experienced partners preparing for fieldwork, training is guided by the horse’s needs and the demands of the intended work. When horses are available, individual listings provide information about their background, training, and available health and registration records so prospective owners can evaluate the partnership.
Media & Production
XR also serves as a creative setting for Dr. Pettler’s media work, including Crimeworx Productions. Television, film, podcast, and music projects bring together her experience in forensic investigation, education, and storytelling.
For production inquiries, expert appearances, or potential collaborations, contact LPA.
News From the Ranch
Follow the horses, people, and projects shaping life at XR, including training milestones, competition results, educational events, and new programs on our facebook page Facebook.com/xrcrossroadsranch.
Connect With LPA at XR
Whether you’re seeking professional education, developing a mounted unit, planning a forensic event, exploring a True Crime & Equines™ experience, contact us to learn more about opportunities at XR Crossroads Ranch.
Contact Us · View Upcoming Events · Explore Laura Pettler & Associates Services · LPAIFI.com
XR’s Aegon Earns Champion and Four Reserve Championships at the Southern Magnolia Classic
BGR Blue Haven’s Blue Dream Magnolia In the Mountains Championship Show: Champion 2-3 Year Old Gelding
BGR Blue Haven’s Blue Dream Reserve Champion Showmanship
Aegon’s final results were:
Champion: Open 2–3 Year Old Geldings
Reserve Champion: Solid Color
Reserve Champion: Amateur Showmanship
Reserve Champion: Open Dressage Suitability in Hand
Reserve Champion: Open Trail in Hand
Top Five: Amateur Geldings
Sixth Place: Amateur Trail in Hand
The Open 2–3 Year Old Geldings Championship was an especially meaningful accomplishment for Aegon as a young horse still developing physically and mentally. But perhaps the most rewarding result of the weekend came in the performance classes. Aegon earned Reserve Champion in Open Trail in Hand with his trainer, Rebecca Wilkerson Van Tassel, and then returned to the trail course with me in the Amateur division, where finished sixth with Dr. Pettler. For Dr. Pettler, that sixth-place ribbon mattered. At their previous show, Aegon and Dr. Pettler were disqualified from trail for time. This time, they completed the course and placed.
Horse training rarely moves in a perfectly straight line. Progress isn't always measured by the color of the ribbon. Sometimes it is measured by walking back into an arena where things didn't go well before, doing the job better, and finishing what you started. Aegon's results at Southern Magnolia also reflect the partnership behind him. Dr. Pettler raised and trained Aegon from the time he was seven months old, building the foundation that brought him to this point. In May, he entered professional training with Rebecca to continue his education and prepare for the next stage of his show career. Watching that foundation translate into success with both his professional trainer and me in the amateur classes is incredibly rewarding.
The Southern Magnolia Classic Championship was more than a successful show for Aegon. It was more evidence that the young horse Dr. Pettler’s been developing in her Forensic Horsemanship program is becoming exactly what she hoped he would become: versatile, willing, competitive, and capable of stepping into very different classes and holding his own.
Dr. Pettler’s tGypsy Vanner Gelding, BGR Blue Haven’s Blue Dream CREK (CREK was the former brand of XR Crossroads Ranch) “Aegon” or “Egg” as she calls him, had an exceptional weekend at the August 2026 Southern Magnolia Classic Championship Horse Show at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, earning a Championship, four Reserve Championships, a Top Five placement, and a sixth-place finish across both open and amateur competition.
At just three years old, Aegon competed successfully across a remarkably diverse group of classes from halter and conformation to showmanship, dressage suitability, and trail in hand. His results demonstrate not only his quality as a young Gypsy Vanner, but also the versatility, trainability, and temperament we have worked to develop in him from the beginning.
Dr. Pettler & Aegon in Amateur In-Hand Trail