Does anyone remember the ex top international SJ that ended up with a dealer and being sold to a girl who had no idea of his history?

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laura_nash

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Frumpoon said:
There's something deeply fishy about this whole situation

Dodgy dealer after dodgy dealer now a foreign 'rescue'
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Why is a charity based in France more fishy than a UK based one?

I've provided multiple links now, they aren't a general rescue they specifically take older elite horses, especially SJers, for retirement and also campaign for better provision and awareness for older top non racehorses generally. They have endorsements from a lot of top SJers.

I don't know them IRL but I can't see anything to suggest they are dodgy? Other than the fact they might be furriners (actually I suspect the owners are British but still that seems to be the concern here).
 
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Frumpoon

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laura_nash said:
Why is a charity based in France more fishy than a UK based one?

I've provided multiple links now, they aren't a general rescue they specifically take older elite horses, especially SJers, for retirement and also campaign for better provision and awareness for older top non racehorses generally. They have endorsements from a lot of top SJers.

I don't know them IRL but I can't see anything to suggest they are dodgy? Other than the fact they might be furriners (actually I suspect the owners are British but still that seems to be the concern here).
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There's something that sticks in the throat for me about millionaire showjumpers offing their old horses on a long journey overseas instead of providing them with a place to graze and live on their own capacious premises
 
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Bellaboo18

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From the links the charity does look above board so hopefully the horse will get the ending he deserves.

For me though theres not a lot of happiness in this story. Current owner is now doing a go fund me to cover his transport to France. It blows my mind how she also thinks she owes the horse nothing.
 
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AmyMay

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Bellaboo18 said:
From the links the charity look above board so hopefully the horse will get the ending he deserves.

For me though theres not a lot of happiness in this story. Current owner is now doing a go fund me to cover his transport to France. It blows my mind how she also thinks she owes the horse nothing.
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Link?
 
Ample Prosecco

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Bellaboo18 said:
For me though theres not a lot of happiness in this story. Current owner is now doing a go fund me to cover his transport to France. It blows my mind how she also thinks she owes the horse nothing.
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She bought what she thought was an 11 year old to showjump. Not an ex superstar high maintenance vet bill on legs. Her mistake really was to publically promise a 'forever home' in the first flush of excitement in knowing she owned a megastar horse. But she is very young (I believe) that excitement was never going to last long (or pay the bills!) and at least she is trying to secure his future now and no longer trying to sell him on herself. Hope the charity is legit and gives him the retirement he deserves. I think Quality Old Joker ended up on the open market ar some point too iirc. That felt sad to me. I watched him win the Puissance at HOYS
 
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Bellaboo18

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Ambers Echo said:
She bought what she thought was an 11 year old to showjump. Not an ex superstar high maintenance vet bill on legs. Her mistake really was to publically promise a 'forever home' in the first flush of excitement in knowing she owned a megastar horse. But she is very young (I believe) that excitement was never going to last long (or pay the bills!) and at least she is trying to secure his future now and no longer trying to sell him on herself. Hope the charity is legit and gives him the retirement he deserves. I think Quality Old Joker ended up on the open market ar some point too iirc. That felt sad to me. I watched him win the Puissance at HOYS
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Unfortunately any horse at any age can turn in to a walking vets bill. I see it as the charity stepped forward not sure this owner has gone out of her way to find a retirement home. In fact in her advert she said he wouldnt cope being retired.
Yes shes only 16, although I'd hope there are parents around(?!)
Hopefully she's learnt alot from this experience.
Very sad to hear about Quality Old Joker, I hadn't realised that.
 
Ample Prosecco

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Any horse can turn into a vet's retirement fund (believe me I know!!!) but she was missold the horse in the first place. She could have said 'I'm 16 and I've been missold a very high maintenance, sharp 20+ year old, I won't send him back because I want to keep him away from the people who do this kind of thing, but I can't possibly keep him. He is totally unsuitable for me. I couldn't ride one side of him and he should probably retire anyway. Advice please?" I doubt there would be many who insist she owes the horse a retirement. She got over excited by the drama of it and created an expectation but I feel an experienced retirement home is much the better option.
 
Lexi_

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scats said:
I love that horse!
But I saw him at Liverpool a couple of years ago with a heavier set Male rider and I’ve never seen the horse look so uncomfortable.
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Oh gosh I remember that. Not a pleasant sight.
 
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Not_so_brave_anymore said:
I imagine most people who can cope with a powerful, athletic, hot puissance horse (I don't know the temperament of this specific horse, I'm just generalising) are people who still want to be out competing. There can't be many leisure homes that can cope with this type of elite ex-jumper. Never mind that the horse is almost certainly riddled with arthritis by now.

If these horses don't have any financial value as stallions or broodmares, then I can imagine that many of them have a bleak future once they're no longer successful in the ring.

Ps I really hope I'm wrong! Obviously lots of OTTBs manage to transition to a different type of life after racing. But then again, many don't.
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While some pro horses are difficult and need specialist riders, a lot are just horses and are not particularly more difficult than the average horse, especially when they aren't competition fit. I worked as a pro groom for years and all our horses could be hacked by the grooms (we were all pretty average riders) and handled/ turned out as normal. There were one or two that could get really tricky when super fit or if they hadn't been turned out for a while (usually at their worst when just back from a tour in Europe), but they were all donkeys after their end of summer holiday and a month in the field.
 
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