Post by jenm on Jan 12, 2009 13:41:16 GMT -5
**Permission to crosspost granted**
How Sam ripped off and lied to a Pony Club family:
In November 2007, I was a Placement Specialist for a TB on the lot named Bonnie. Based on her assessment, I thought she would be a good horse for a ten year old pony clubber who is friends with my niece. I know the mom fairly well and they had met Jamaica and knew our story, and while they were a bit hesitant to adopt long distance, they felt it was a good choice for them. So, they adopted Bonnie who went to QT with Sam. Sam suggested that while she is in QT, that they have John ride her and get her some saddle time before she came down. ($700/month). At this point, Jamie paid for a pre-purchase exam which Bonnie passed. Sam decided after the first month that Bonnie needed some more time under saddle, so Jamie paid for another month of John riding her. February rolled around and Sam suggested that Bonnie go to another trainer to be started over fences. She also said the fee would be $750 and that Jamie should pay Sam, not Molly, the trainer. In conversations with Molly, Jamie discovered that Molly actually only charges $700 per month, so Jamie was a bit upset to learn Sam had tacked on extra $50.00. Bonnie spent about six weeks with Molly, the rest of the time she was in Sam's care. Molly discovered that Bonnie had some odd pooping issues and suggested another exam before Bonnie came down. It turns out Bonnie has a tear along her vaginal wall that causes poop to come out of her vulva sometimes. Needless to say, this was enough of an injury to prevent Bonnie from having a career as a pony club horse. No one is sure why the initial exam didn't reveal this, but Jamie is wondering how no one at Sam's placed noticed odd pooping behavior in the four months she was there. Bonnie was deemed healthy enough for trail riding but not for jumping. At this time, the vet also told Jamie that no way would he recommend putting a ten year old on this horse, despite the fact Sam assured her Bonnie was ready.
Andrea, the ten year old girl, was IN LOVE with Bonnie as only a ten year old could be. She had all of Bonnie's photos up in her room and was excited beyond belief.
Sam told Jamie that she would just have Bonnie put down. No offer to re-home, nothing. Of course Jamie got upset and said if nothing else, she would bring Bonnie down here (Northern Cal) and find a pasture for her. Two days later, Sam called Jamie and said she found a place for Bonnie at a ranch outside of Seattle where she would be a therapy horse for troubled kids. Jamie asked me if CBER had a return policy in case it didn't work out or Bonnie needed a new home. I said they did not, but let Jamie know she should contact Sam and put her in touch with the owner of the ranch so that Jamie could get in writing that Bonnie could come to her if it didn't work out. In the meantime, Sam sent Bonnie on her merry way and Jamie never heard from the owner of the ranch. She got his phone number and left messages for a guy named Tony but he hasn't returned any of her calls, even when she said she wanted to donate money toward Bonnie's care! We never even given the name of the ranch. Have any of you ever heard of a non profit that won’t return voicemails offering donations?! By the way, I later was told the man’s name is Pat Burns.
After talking to Jamie, I called Joe Shelton who told me he had a couple of horses that would be a good fit for a ten year old. Things were looking up. Now Joe, I believe!
Sam then told Jamie she had another TB that would be perfect for her daughter; a 14 year old TB mare named Beauty who Sam claimed was one of her personal riding horses and would be great as a Pony Club mount. Jamie said she wasn't too keen on bringing down a 14 year old horse, so she asked Sam to let her think about it and she would let her know. One evening, I got a call from Sam. She said she wanted to let me know what was going on and in our conversation, she said she said she was sending Beauty down to Jamie and that she would arrive on Friday. I thought it was odd that Jamie did not mention that to me, but I thought it was a nice gesture on Sam's part. Sam assured me Beauty would be perfect for a ten year old and was ready for the pony club show ring. She also offered to take Beauty back if it wasn't a good fit. Oh, she also didn't tell Jamie that it was going to cost her $400 to bring Beauty down, Surprise!
Here is where the story gets good: Turns out Sam sent Beauty down here without Jamie's permission! She put her on the trailer and then left Jamie a voice mail. By the time Jamie got the voicemail, there was nothing she could do! She didn’t even have the contact info for the shipper. They really wanted a horse, so they agreed to see what Beauty was all about. Turns out Beauty is no where near the well trained pony club horse Sam made her out to be. So, $3,060 later, Jamie and her daughter have a horse they didn't exactly want and can't really ride! They could have bought a nice, proven horse for that money. Needless to say, Jamie is very upset and disappointed in her whole dealings with Sam. She feels Sam was nickel and diming her for money all along and now regrets adopting. Of course I feel horrible because I encouraged her to give it a shot. They can't really afford now to pour a lot of money into training for Beauty since they already spent so much on Bonnie. Jamie is a good friend of my sister's and now I feel like an idiot for getting her involved. She said her whole experience with Sam has been negative as Sam has been disorganized and unprofessional.
We later found out the Beauty was never a personal riding/show horse of Sam’s. She either came from auction or the lot, but it was never clear.
Bonnie is only alive today because of Jamie. Sam wanted to get rid of Bonnie, which as we now are learning, means Bonnie would surely have gone back to the lot.
Bonnie:
How Sam ripped off and lied to a Pony Club family:
In November 2007, I was a Placement Specialist for a TB on the lot named Bonnie. Based on her assessment, I thought she would be a good horse for a ten year old pony clubber who is friends with my niece. I know the mom fairly well and they had met Jamaica and knew our story, and while they were a bit hesitant to adopt long distance, they felt it was a good choice for them. So, they adopted Bonnie who went to QT with Sam. Sam suggested that while she is in QT, that they have John ride her and get her some saddle time before she came down. ($700/month). At this point, Jamie paid for a pre-purchase exam which Bonnie passed. Sam decided after the first month that Bonnie needed some more time under saddle, so Jamie paid for another month of John riding her. February rolled around and Sam suggested that Bonnie go to another trainer to be started over fences. She also said the fee would be $750 and that Jamie should pay Sam, not Molly, the trainer. In conversations with Molly, Jamie discovered that Molly actually only charges $700 per month, so Jamie was a bit upset to learn Sam had tacked on extra $50.00. Bonnie spent about six weeks with Molly, the rest of the time she was in Sam's care. Molly discovered that Bonnie had some odd pooping issues and suggested another exam before Bonnie came down. It turns out Bonnie has a tear along her vaginal wall that causes poop to come out of her vulva sometimes. Needless to say, this was enough of an injury to prevent Bonnie from having a career as a pony club horse. No one is sure why the initial exam didn't reveal this, but Jamie is wondering how no one at Sam's placed noticed odd pooping behavior in the four months she was there. Bonnie was deemed healthy enough for trail riding but not for jumping. At this time, the vet also told Jamie that no way would he recommend putting a ten year old on this horse, despite the fact Sam assured her Bonnie was ready.
Andrea, the ten year old girl, was IN LOVE with Bonnie as only a ten year old could be. She had all of Bonnie's photos up in her room and was excited beyond belief.
Sam told Jamie that she would just have Bonnie put down. No offer to re-home, nothing. Of course Jamie got upset and said if nothing else, she would bring Bonnie down here (Northern Cal) and find a pasture for her. Two days later, Sam called Jamie and said she found a place for Bonnie at a ranch outside of Seattle where she would be a therapy horse for troubled kids. Jamie asked me if CBER had a return policy in case it didn't work out or Bonnie needed a new home. I said they did not, but let Jamie know she should contact Sam and put her in touch with the owner of the ranch so that Jamie could get in writing that Bonnie could come to her if it didn't work out. In the meantime, Sam sent Bonnie on her merry way and Jamie never heard from the owner of the ranch. She got his phone number and left messages for a guy named Tony but he hasn't returned any of her calls, even when she said she wanted to donate money toward Bonnie's care! We never even given the name of the ranch. Have any of you ever heard of a non profit that won’t return voicemails offering donations?! By the way, I later was told the man’s name is Pat Burns.
After talking to Jamie, I called Joe Shelton who told me he had a couple of horses that would be a good fit for a ten year old. Things were looking up. Now Joe, I believe!
Sam then told Jamie she had another TB that would be perfect for her daughter; a 14 year old TB mare named Beauty who Sam claimed was one of her personal riding horses and would be great as a Pony Club mount. Jamie said she wasn't too keen on bringing down a 14 year old horse, so she asked Sam to let her think about it and she would let her know. One evening, I got a call from Sam. She said she wanted to let me know what was going on and in our conversation, she said she said she was sending Beauty down to Jamie and that she would arrive on Friday. I thought it was odd that Jamie did not mention that to me, but I thought it was a nice gesture on Sam's part. Sam assured me Beauty would be perfect for a ten year old and was ready for the pony club show ring. She also offered to take Beauty back if it wasn't a good fit. Oh, she also didn't tell Jamie that it was going to cost her $400 to bring Beauty down, Surprise!
Here is where the story gets good: Turns out Sam sent Beauty down here without Jamie's permission! She put her on the trailer and then left Jamie a voice mail. By the time Jamie got the voicemail, there was nothing she could do! She didn’t even have the contact info for the shipper. They really wanted a horse, so they agreed to see what Beauty was all about. Turns out Beauty is no where near the well trained pony club horse Sam made her out to be. So, $3,060 later, Jamie and her daughter have a horse they didn't exactly want and can't really ride! They could have bought a nice, proven horse for that money. Needless to say, Jamie is very upset and disappointed in her whole dealings with Sam. She feels Sam was nickel and diming her for money all along and now regrets adopting. Of course I feel horrible because I encouraged her to give it a shot. They can't really afford now to pour a lot of money into training for Beauty since they already spent so much on Bonnie. Jamie is a good friend of my sister's and now I feel like an idiot for getting her involved. She said her whole experience with Sam has been negative as Sam has been disorganized and unprofessional.
We later found out the Beauty was never a personal riding/show horse of Sam’s. She either came from auction or the lot, but it was never clear.
Bonnie is only alive today because of Jamie. Sam wanted to get rid of Bonnie, which as we now are learning, means Bonnie would surely have gone back to the lot.
Bonnie:
