Good for Tom Selleck! I think if more buyers who ended up with a lame horse (who was lame pre-sale) would sue the sellers, maybe the sellers might think twice about trying to dupe people into buying lame horses.
Seriously, if they are that desperate to get the money out of a lame horse, then why do they not get loss-of-use insurance so that they don’t HAVE to try to pass off a lame horse as sound and sell them? Dishonest people really piss me off.
[QUOTE=mvp;4355999]
I am confused.
The guy did or did not get a PPE?
According to local rumors, the horse was somehow “prepared” for the PPE? Selleck did not, I take it, draw blood for that. Nor did he ask to speak to the regular horse’s vet, as the trainer contends?
Finally, are they complaining about injecting joints with steroids or systemic steriods? I don’t think you can throw a rock at a horse show without hitting some animal who has had some kind of steroid injected into some joint. Selleck can’t be that naive, or complaining about joint injection’s right? If so, he really pulled a fast one on the jury.[/QUOTE]
I believe it was injections to the coffin bone —
I’ve met Tom Selleck a few times over the years…lovely, lovely man. My understanding is that he doesn’t have “bottomless pockets,” as compared to other “A” horse show parents. The interviews I’ve read with Hannah over the past few years stressed that she accomplished her riding goals with one horse at a time rather than the mutiples that seem to be the norm among other successful juniors; further, as I understand it, she is known for doing most of the work herself–granted, she has a super trainer, but her talent certainly came from years of hard work & not $$. Further, at the level at which she rides a $120k horse would be middle to low range & not top of the line.
I say good on Tom for sticking to his guns & I hope Hannah is able to continue her riding career at the top, she deserves to.
I’d still like to know what happened to Zorro, does anyone have this info.?
Roulette please don’t speculate… unless you are privy to specific facts. Your expertise is called into question when you decided to proclaim your Arab jumper “world champion” at the 1.0 meter. Really :rolleyes:
Don’t derail the facts being discussed on this thread, it is good information and perhaps one of the few times a jury has awarded such a judgement for the buyer ( plaintiff ) in a horse related sale.
Are you a DVM ? No, I thought not.
[QUOTE=Wanderluster;4357168]
Roulette please don’t speculate… unless you are privy to specific facts. Your expertise is called into question when you decided to proclaim your Arab jumper “world champion” at the 1.0 meter. Really :rolleyes:
Don’t derail the facts being discussed on this thread, it is good information and perhaps one of the few times a jury has awarded such a judgement for the buyer ( plaintiff ) in a horse related sale.
Are you a DVM ? No, I thought not.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, that’s what I was told maybe 2 years ago and no my old jumper is not a world champion anything and no I’m not a vet. If I received incorrect information, then I stand corrected and have
removed the post. The case was won and rightly so ----
[QUOTE=cloudyandcallie;4356759]
Cool! Did his daughter show your pony? Great that they treat their old horses well. Zorro’s owner might take note.[/QUOTE]
Yes she did. I believe in the Large Children Ponys at that point in Dreamy’s career. I talked to Hannah about her at Medal Finals a few years back. I had actually emailed Nicole Shahinian Simpson a few years ago to ask if they still had her and her son was riding her. She was also on the cover of a magazine with Hannah and Tom. I can’t remember which one.
I am so happy they sued and won! I remember talking to Jillie, his wife about their case while I was still in federal court with Pato Muente over my horse. It is nice to see that they went through with it!
It is about time crooked owners and professionals are made accountable! Far too often in this industry the clients usually juniors, their parents and amateurs are afraid to stand up against the professionals for “fear” of the consequences ie you’ll never be able to buy another horse, your kid won’t get ribbons, no trainer will take you on as a client etc…
Good for them for not tolerating this type of behavior! Maybe now with this type of suit becoming more common the crooked people in the horse show industry will take note and clean up their acts!
[QUOTE=OkLurchers;4357159]
I’d still like to know what happened to Zorro, does anyone have this info.?[/QUOTE]
I believe he is on the east coast, I sporadically see his name in the junior hunter results
[QUOTE=Plumcreek;4355872]
So where was the Selleck’s trainer in this horse deal? Sounds like some expertise and due dilligence was needed.
( I took a look at the show schedule of Karen Healey Stables - geez louise! )[/QUOTE]
Lesson One… Do a prepurchase exam and x-rays, especially if its 150 grand
I guess they don’t think in Hollywood.
I was living in MA when Clea was riding. She qualified for Madison Square Garden, as I recall. Doesn’t really matter who your parents are, at that point, does it? Still gotta be able to ride. :winkgrin:
You’ve never heard of a horse who passed PPE and x-rays with flying colors only to be found permanently lame later, and find out that the previous owner knew about it?
There are a lot of things that might not show up in a prepurchase exam. You can pull blood but you can’t test for every drug known to mankind. That is why the USEF stores blood for the horses which they pull from at the shows. When a test becomes available for a substance that they weren’t previously able to test for they are able to run it.
I think that they caught a few trainers with that a few years back.
Also, keep in mind that a prepurchase is a snap-shot in time. While they maybe sound that given day it is no guarantee that they will stay sound. There are many injections which numb the area.
I remember a really expensive World Champion AQHA which came into our barn as a kid. One of the most beautiful horses I’ve ever seen (and I don’t love Quarter Horses), she was special. I don’t know what the seller (trainer) had done to her but she passed the prepurchase with flying colors and was crippled within a few days. She foundered and eventually was put down. The story that was told was that they had done a temp nerve block when they tried her and again on the prepurchase the next day. They knew the mare was foundering but wanted her gone and gone she was. It was pretty terrible.
This was before the days of lawsuits and in the days of buyer beware. The family lost their whole investment and the horse died about 9 months later about 2 months in foal when they decided to breed her because she could never be ridden again. They spent months and months soaking her feet, thousands with the blacksmith trying to make her comfortable. It was really sad.
It happens in every discipline, glad now that people are finally standing up to say it isn’t right.
If you READ this thread’s beginning, it says the horse was “doctored” so he would PASS the ppe.
[QUOTE=Alterrain;4357529]
I believe he is on the east coast, I sporadically see his name in the junior hunter results[/QUOTE]
Niiiiiice. Jumping the poor horse into the ground. :no:
I applaud the Sellecks for pursuing this and am glad they got a positive result. Moreover, I hope the seller gets hammered on punitives. Hopefully that way some of these crooked trainers will start getting the memo: you stand to lose your WHOLE LIVELIHOOD - EVERYTHING - if you are not above board in your sales transactions.
It is sad how many people get taken in by crooked horse dealers/traders/trainers etc…sometimes even the best intentions lead to heartbreaking results…but when someone deliberately tricks a seller in any fashion and sells a horse that has no future or ability to perform in the manner promised…they deserve to be held accountable. Sure buyer beware, but there is also seller be responsible…selling a horse that is lame or crippled or has manjor issues that you have masked…is pretty low…of course the poor horses can’t help it but once again an industry with no responsibility for its outcasts…we jumped it to death and ruined it lets drug it up and pass it off down the road…great attitude 
I am very impressed that the Sellecks won this type of a jury award. I wonder if they got attorney’s fees because it probably cost them a pretty penny to litigate. Having worked in the area of liability defense and having served on a jury, I can tell you that most juries are going to be confused about horse issues and would find the compensatory damage number to be high. It is an unusual result.
What will really be interesting is if punative damages are awarded. Punitives are for willful, wanton and gross misconduct. Typically they are not covered by the trainer’s liability coverage. So a punative award would really hurt the trainer. Her insurance is likely to cover the damage award as long as fraudulent misconduct was not proven. My guess is that if the carrier defended the trainer, they did not feel that fraud was an issue.
Didn’t know Tom Selleck had a daughter! 
Nah, with $150,000 I would pack my barn full of $500 horses, they last longer
The seller in this case is actually an amateur, not a trainer. She does ride with a somewhat BNT however. I have not seen his name mentioned at all, whether in this thread, on other boards, or in the news.
I agree – shady business in the horse industry should be outed and get their due. However, as far as “checking vet records” – unless the owner released them, a buyer can’t check them. I wouldn’t think the seller in this case would release vet records that show a history of unsoundness.
PennyG
[quote=War Admiral;4360627]Niiiiiice. Jumping the poor horse into the ground. :no:
[/quote]
There are about 30 horses named Zorro listed on the USEF website. Is there any reason to think it’s the same horse, other than the name?
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