If money was no object ...

[Polos Mum]

… where would you go to look for a quality eventer type, confidently competing up to 1.10, floaty nice novice dressage, hacks alone, sane and sound.

I am sick of "didn't I mention the ulcers", "it's only an old wire injury" even "he's never done that before" some so lame on viewing I haven't even got on.

Yorkshire area

Current rate of failed vetting and travel costs has me wonder about whether upping the budget massively to see if that gets me any further

 

[SusieT]

I'd assume you need 12-20K plus depending on the quality you are looking. For the hacking I'd say you need an amateurs horse ideally as lots of pros dont rate this- horseqquest gets quite a lot.

 

[tashcat]

Have you tried horsescout? (I hope you mean money is no object )

 

[be positive]

I'd assume you need 12-20K plus depending on the quality you are looking. For the hacking I'd say you need an amateurs horse ideally as lots of pros dont rate this- horseqquest gets quite a lot.

I think to find one jumping confidently round novice tracks your budget needs to be in excess of £20k if you want to avoid quirks, a patchy record, poor dressage or sj, I think you would either need to drop down to finding a well produced 90- just starting 1m horse that has scope to go on or look for a horse from a different discipline that you can change direction with but a straightforward sj would still not be easy to find.

The last time I went looking for similar we struggled to find much to view by the time I had ruled out most on record/ video/ asking a few awkward questions etc. we only vetted the one we purchased as I also ruled out a few for obvious soundness issues when we viewed, he was in a pro yard but had also done a fair amount with his amateur owner.

Just realised I didn't really answer the question but in reality I don't think I would go anywhere as such I would just be extremely fussy looking at the ads, get videos, double check records and probably go to a few events and ask around.

 

[Cragrat]

Samantha Jimmison - Doncaster

 

[turnbuckle]

Word of mouth will be your best way - I do know a girl who might be able to go through her contacts to find one like that, but would like to chat to you first, important to make sure you are both on the same wavelength, pm me if you want....

 

[Bernster]

I’ve never really tried a blow your budget type search. The most expensive horse I bought wasn’t right for me and I sold him 4 weeks later so that wasn’t a great experience. On the flip side, I’ve had decent luck getting good ones within a fairly standard budget. Anyhow, I do wonder whether you’ll still get some issues despite going top end, as it just seems to be the way it goes sometimes! Not helpful but just a musing. Be interested to hear how you get on and whether increasing the budget does the trick.

 

[Red-1]

For 20K plus Vere Phillipps is completely honest. Quality horses.

When you call he will fire details at you at a rapid rate, so have a pen and pencil.

His horses generally won't have been eventing, but will likely have been out hunting and BS. He will have put then through his 'system' which included working on the flat, hacking, XC schooling over Newton fences and round his farm. Excellent trial facilities.

My last horse came from him, but this time, as a more, ahem, mature person, the ones he had were higher performance than I wanted. Beautifully produced though. Honestly described.

 

[oldie48]

I've bought a three horses that have been found by people I train with. One for my daughter, who would have fitted the bill for you perfectly when we sold him (via the trainer) as a ten yr old when my daughter went to uni and two for myself (hacking and dressage). Trainers often know what horses are coming onto the market and if they know how you ride then they are great at matching horses with riders and most importantly keeping you together as a partnership when things start to go to pieces (which they always do at some point!). they also often know the history and tbh all three turned out to be very good horses, safe and sound and did the job. Now is a good time as horses will be coming on to the market as students go off to uni and I much prefer horses that have been ridden by good amateurs as a professional will get a donkey round a novice track and cope with all sorts of problems that an amateur won't. None of these horses was that expensive.

 

[windand rain]

I honestly think money isnt the issue. Often highly bred and trained horses will have illnesses and issues especially ulcers and ligament and tendon problems. I personally think breeding is the problem a lot of the horses are bred for unnatural gaits, unnatural conformation and not for temperament and amateur use.
Best bet is to actually look at the horses you like, again personally I would have a maximum height of 16.2. with short cannons and back and bred for temperament. Where to look is a different problem but maybe an agency might be the best start

 

[Annie B.]

Graham Sugden at Wakefield I got a fab horse off him last year. Not pushy and spot on truthfull. I'm delighted.

 

[spacefaer]

Andrea Verdina - Iralian event rider and show jumper. Has a LOT of contacts. He runs a sports horse agency and will find you what you are looking for. His horses are often sold word of mouth and never come on the open market.

 

[ihatework]

To be honest it isn’t about how much they cost.
Expensive horses still come with vetting issues, management issues, behavioural issues.

Having a big budget does nothing more than open up the pool of horses available to you.

If I wanted a very specific type of horse with a performance record I’d use a good agent whilst scouring private ads too.

 

[Polos Mum]

I’d use a good agent whilst scouring private ads too.

Many thanks all - can anyone recommend a good agent - I will look at the couple that have already been mentioned.
Private ads seem to be like looking for a needle in a haystack (when most of the people you are talking to don't know what a needle looks like!)

I would be more than happy to pay agent fees for them to take some of the pain out of the process.

 

[ihatework]

Many thanks all - can anyone recommend a good agent - I will look at the couple that have already been mentioned.
Private ads seem to be like looking for a needle in a haystack (when most of the people you are talking to don't know what a needle looks like!)

I would be more than happy to pay agent fees for them to take some of the pain out of the process.

If you PM me your expectations of a horse and rough budget I’d be happy to run through some agents / production yards that I know of

 

[PTCE]

I would aim for someone who's off to uni's horse. If their not produced by a professional they are more used to sorting they're own legs out, and are more likely to have hacked and hunted etc. They may not always have the perfect record but this does bring the price down for a quality and generois horse. They are typically more used a slightly less structured life, and doing other non-eventing activities. However these types of horses only tend to come up for sale if there is no way to keep them, so a pony club member handing off to uni, or that's the case for me (my horse would pretty much fit the brief but we're down south). I would try asking the dc of the local pony club or the pony club website.