MizElz
Well-Known Member
Can anybody beat this???
Back in 2000, I lost my 10 year old TBxID very suddenly and unexpectedly; initially, I said I would never get another horse. But it wasn't long before I was persuaded to start looking for another, and so we started trawling through back issues of H&H. Six months, 2500 road miles and twenty three horses later, we found Miss Ellie!
Some of the horses we looked at were so memorable in their awfulness and misrepresentation that even now, 7 years on, I can remember them clearly. I won't mention any names (for obvious reasons), but here are a few
1) a dun horse with the biggest parrot mouth ever seen, also a great deal older than the stated 7 years
2)a gentleman who was offering 2 horses for sale, who, when we arrived, decided he didn't want to sell the one we had gone to see. my evil mother and trainer proceeded to make me ride 2nd horse, a huge black cob which dished dreadfully, but jumped like a stag!!! whilst following me on the horse, said mother and trainer were then subjected to the seller's lifestory, including how his brother-in-law was a convicted paedophile who then drowned himself in the bath. Interesting.
3) A four year old, advertised as 15.2 but closer to 17hh, who dragged me towards a jump/hedge/wall/fence at every opportunity, but then didnt stop on the other side
4) A little Lord Of Arabia filly, who looked and acted like she had been beaten constantly, and barely had a part of her body unscarred or unblemished. Apparently, she had 'fallen off the ramp' the day before
5) A horse so crippled it couldn't stand up; whatever you do, don't go anywhere near a woman near Newbury advertising as 'Bargain Basement Horses'
6) A Joli Coeur rig, about 16.2 (naturally, advertised as 15.1hh) which, after mum wouldn't let me ride it, proceeded to buck my trainer (and both hind shoes) 20 feet into the air
7) The horse of my dreams: a chestnut version of the beloved boy i had lost, whose owners, after I had ridden, jumped him and fed him hundreds of carrots, turned round and said that although i had ridden him beautifully, they didn't think it was 'appropriate to buy a 12 year old girl a 5 year old horse' and refused to sell him.
8) a horse that everyone else fell in love with but me: he had 'tickly sides', and every time a i put my leg on, he went into a peculiar bronco act.
9) A mare that helped me clear the biggest jump I have ever come across, even to date...she was sold from under us, as we went to drop off the deposit.
They were the ones that really stand out; by the time September came, I had given up. Then my trainer called me, saying he had the perfect horse in his yard, and not to worry that he had picked her up from a locally renowned, rather dubious dealer who most people are advised to avoid at all costs. 'Long ears, shaggy feet and feathers,' he said. Well, he got the long ears right; the rest, as they say, is history.
Back in 2000, I lost my 10 year old TBxID very suddenly and unexpectedly; initially, I said I would never get another horse. But it wasn't long before I was persuaded to start looking for another, and so we started trawling through back issues of H&H. Six months, 2500 road miles and twenty three horses later, we found Miss Ellie!
Some of the horses we looked at were so memorable in their awfulness and misrepresentation that even now, 7 years on, I can remember them clearly. I won't mention any names (for obvious reasons), but here are a few
1) a dun horse with the biggest parrot mouth ever seen, also a great deal older than the stated 7 years
2)a gentleman who was offering 2 horses for sale, who, when we arrived, decided he didn't want to sell the one we had gone to see. my evil mother and trainer proceeded to make me ride 2nd horse, a huge black cob which dished dreadfully, but jumped like a stag!!! whilst following me on the horse, said mother and trainer were then subjected to the seller's lifestory, including how his brother-in-law was a convicted paedophile who then drowned himself in the bath. Interesting.
3) A four year old, advertised as 15.2 but closer to 17hh, who dragged me towards a jump/hedge/wall/fence at every opportunity, but then didnt stop on the other side
4) A little Lord Of Arabia filly, who looked and acted like she had been beaten constantly, and barely had a part of her body unscarred or unblemished. Apparently, she had 'fallen off the ramp' the day before
5) A horse so crippled it couldn't stand up; whatever you do, don't go anywhere near a woman near Newbury advertising as 'Bargain Basement Horses'
6) A Joli Coeur rig, about 16.2 (naturally, advertised as 15.1hh) which, after mum wouldn't let me ride it, proceeded to buck my trainer (and both hind shoes) 20 feet into the air
7) The horse of my dreams: a chestnut version of the beloved boy i had lost, whose owners, after I had ridden, jumped him and fed him hundreds of carrots, turned round and said that although i had ridden him beautifully, they didn't think it was 'appropriate to buy a 12 year old girl a 5 year old horse' and refused to sell him.
8) a horse that everyone else fell in love with but me: he had 'tickly sides', and every time a i put my leg on, he went into a peculiar bronco act.
9) A mare that helped me clear the biggest jump I have ever come across, even to date...she was sold from under us, as we went to drop off the deposit.
They were the ones that really stand out; by the time September came, I had given up. Then my trainer called me, saying he had the perfect horse in his yard, and not to worry that he had picked her up from a locally renowned, rather dubious dealer who most people are advised to avoid at all costs. 'Long ears, shaggy feet and feathers,' he said. Well, he got the long ears right; the rest, as they say, is history.
