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Post by dillis on Apr 25, 2012 9:01:12 GMT
Does anybody know anything about Prestige Sport Horses based in Castle Camps or the proprietor Holly Garrett?
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Post by hairylemon on Mar 20, 2015 20:38:46 GMT
I know enough to keep out of their way and never buy a horse there.
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Post by ambassador on Jun 22, 2015 14:23:01 GMT
Please can you both pm me info on her then because my partner had a horse vetted this morning which passed. Before he parts with his money! Thanks
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Post by pinotnoir on Jun 27, 2015 22:07:59 GMT
I had a horse vetted that Holly Garrett was selling. It passed the five stage vetting but as the asking price was £10,000 the vet advised X-rays. Most insurance companies also require X-rays if the price is £10,000. However, one X-Ray was abnormal and the vet advised against buying him. Holly Garrett refused to refund the deposit in spite of signing a receipt saying the deposit was subject to the horse passing the vet. In fact as soon as I let her know that the horse had failed on an X-ray she stopped responding to my texts calls and emails.
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Post by whisper222 on Oct 6, 2015 13:20:38 GMT
I bought a horse recently from this so called person for my 12 year old daughter. We were looking for the dream horse for my daughter to compete on as she had grown too tall for her pony. This horse was advertised as a complete all rounder and was the perfect school master with absolutely no vices what so ever. He was being sold on behalf of someone else (supposedly). We went to try him out in the school and jumped him and he was fine and my daughter rode him well and we fell in love with him and put down a £1000 deposit immediately which turned out to be the worst decision of my life. He passed the 5 stage vetting although looking back I cannot understand how. (vet recommended by dealer)
The dealer was on the phone immediately wanting the £9000 and going on about how fantastic this horse was and I would be mad not to buy him, but I started realising something wasn't right as he was advertised as a 7year old and in fact was a 9year old. Also his vaccinations had run out and the vet had to give him the first injection without even asking me,
I asked to speak to the owner of the horse and she did give me a telephone number which I called. The so called owner was very cagey about some of my questions. She told me she had had the horse for 2 years but had known the horse for 5 years. She had done everything on this horse including cross country clinics and show jumping, dressage and lots of hacking. When I asked her about vices she said he was as good as gold and had never reared or bucked and was perfect for my daughter. I then got a phone call from this dealer asking me what I wanted to do. Apparently I had upset the owner by asking her all the questions and she just wanted her lovely horse to go to a good home. So I regrettably felt guilty and proceeded with the deal.
We picked up the horse and things were okay. There were immediately a few issues. He was a bit arrogant in his stable and would barge you constantly when you were mucking out. When being ridden if he didn't want to do something he would stop and come up on his front feet which I thought was a bit worrying. Then my daughter had her first lesson and straight away her instructor said there was something wrong with his back legs. He started to rear more and more and I was getting more stressed thinking what had I done buying this horse. This horse was beginning to be very unpredictable. Out hacking with my 21 year old son he was a nightmare rearing at everything he didn't like and didn't want to go past. I rang the so called owner to ask her advice as I thought maybe we were doing something wrong. But she wouldn't answer her phone and I left her over 20 messages and she never called me back. I called the dealer and she wasn't very helpful telling me he had never reared in the 6 weeks she had had him. She said he was such a good boy and indicated that we had clearly made him start rearing.She did not have any contact details of the owner only the mobile number which she had originally given me. I asked the dealer if she would take the horse back and sell him for us and she said she would take him back for 1 month but how much did we want for him now as he wasn't the horse she sold to us.(in 3 weeks).
I started doing research on this horse and could find no record of his achievements.. This horse was apparently born in Germany, went to Belgium and ended up in Holland. He was vaccinated in Holland last October which doesn't make sense if the so called owner had him for 2 years in the UK. I think now this was one big lie.
After 3 weeks and after he had reared entering the ménage and nearly flipping over backwards with my daughter we decided he was just too dangerous and sent him to a very experienced friend so she could try and assess him and figure out what we were going to do with him.
We got the vet to also check him out. Unfortunately we found out he has major leg issues. After scans and xrays he has been undergoing treatment for 8 weeks and is due to have his final scans next week to see if he has recovered although he will never fully recover. We have been told by the vet who actually specialises in lameness of sport horses that his leg issues were not something that we had made happen in 3 weeks these were long term problems. At present he is worth nothing and if his treatment is successful who is going to buy him? He is still just as arrogant in his stable. He is probably going to have to be shot but we will make that decision next week. This whole experience has cost me a fortune and my daughter is devastated. Buying this horse from this dealer was the worst decision of my life and I was stupid enough to believe everything I was told. This is one huge warning. If we had gone to my vet for vetting and had xrays done too we would never have bought this horse. Sorry this is such a long story but really felt I had to get this out as it has been so upsetting for the whole family.
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Post by sjw87 on Oct 6, 2015 13:46:41 GMT
So sorry to hear of your experience and hope that there can somehow be some kind of happy ending for both yourselves and the horse. Just something I picked up on reading your post that may help prevent others having a similar situation in future: He was vaccinated in Holland last October which doesn't make sense if the so called owner had him for 2 years in the UK. I think now this was one big lie. Ask to see the passport before agreeing to a purchase. It's an ideal opportunity to check who the owner is down as, check the markings for it being the right horse and check where and when the vaccinations were done (and whether this ties in with what you have been told of the horse's history...). If it's an older horse who has only just been passported, ask why - if a passport has been lost, a duplicate should have been requested rather than just getting a new one. I'm guessing in this case that the previous owner's details aren't in the passport? Aside from obviously meaning that in situations like this, you can't contact the person, some PIO's make it very difficult for you to register a passport for a new purchase in your name if the previous owner is not in the passport and hasn't signed the change of ownership form. Sent from my GT-I9195 using proboards
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Post by whisper222 on Oct 14, 2015 9:03:37 GMT
Thanks for your reply and yes your advice is well worth reading.
One other thing when a horse dealer is selling a horse for someone else is it not right that you pay the owner the money and then they pay the dealer their share. I paid the dealer the whole amount which I find a bit odd.
I will never make this mistake again and really wouldn't want anyone to go through this. We have made the decision which has been incredibly difficult to put the horse down. He is a danger to himself and someone else. I am not prepared to pass him on and for him to really hurt someone especially a child. At present he will not come out of the stable as he has completely flipped about a new horse walker that has been installed and can't even look at it without going crazy. He is a very unhappy horse who has never settled anywhere and this is probably why his behaviour is so bad. He has had a broken jaw and there is scaring on his legs so he possibly has been involved in an accident but who knows. I cannot pass him on to someone as a companion in a field as he gets too stressed and would kill himself. He cannot be a happy hacker as he spooks at everything and then rears. His stable manners are not good. I think this decision is the right thing to do but its so hard. It is also costing me a fortune!
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Oct 14, 2015 11:15:41 GMT
It does sound to me based on what you said the only decision to make, and the kindest thing for the horse. What would be his future otherwise?
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Post by kateanne0 on Oct 14, 2015 18:21:18 GMT
Whisper 22, you are making the right decisions for the right reasons. However, consider taking action against the dealer or OP for selling a horse that was not fit for purpose. Good luck and I hope you find the dream horse for your daughter, there will be one just waiting to be found We bought an ex racehorse (been in training but not raced) from a really good source and he is everything they promised. A horse of a lifetime and an absolute gent. If you are in the NW or up to travelling, pm me and I will give you their details.
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Post by maddiemoo73 on Oct 26, 2015 20:52:09 GMT
Whisper 22,I'm so sorry to hear your story about your horse you bought from Holly Garrett,I too have gone through the same thing as you,sounds very similar to my story,resulting in having my Horse PTS,only 9 weeks ago,please pm me if you want to. She should never be allowed to sell horses,she used a member of her staff,had them pretend they was his owner that had owned him for 3 years,ripped his vacs out of his passport,to cover where he had come from,and how long he had been on her yard.he had serious behaviour and psychological issues,resulting in him causing 3 accidents.
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Post by dreamweaver on Oct 27, 2015 21:15:42 GMT
Whisper 22 I also bought a misrepresented horse from Holly Garrett. You're not alone. Same story, same old "sales livery" tale I really feel for your loss.
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Post by herdit on Oct 30, 2015 13:24:01 GMT
I'm so very sorry to hear about your experience with this woman. Please consider taking legal action. If you have house insurance check whether you are covered for legal costs. The same applies if you are in a union. This woman has had legal action taken against her before and settled out of court. PM me if you want details.
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Post by dreamweaver on Oct 30, 2015 20:19:18 GMT
Just incase there are any more members of the HG Mis-sold Club, Prestige Equestrian is now trading as Bartlow Equestrian Centre.
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Post by maddiemoo73 on Oct 31, 2015 17:30:11 GMT
It seems that there are more and more people she has done this too.absolutely disgusting.
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Post by celeste on Dec 26, 2015 17:19:40 GMT
I only enquired about a horse through e-mail and the reply I received was misspelled and had a 'short' tone. Unprofessional if you ask me. I'm glad I read this thread before enquiring further. Sorry to hear about any bad experiences.
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Post by olderwiser on Mar 10, 2016 10:12:17 GMT
Whisper 22 I also bought a misrepresented horse from Holly Garrett. You're not alone. Same story, same old "sales livery" tale I really feel for your loss. Dear all, I am in the same boat. I bought a horse on the basis he'd be safe to hack alone, and be managed by a relatively inexperienced owner. I got a horse that reared, panicked, and was so young and green he defied the description in the ad as 'perfect for a child off ponies'. It now appears that he may have been sedated and we are currently investigating this as I was lucky enough to take the vet's advice and keep a sample of blood for later testing. Watch this space. I do not want to let the issue go. It's not only dangerous for potential buyers, but really sad for the horse.
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Post by nashvillecowgirl on Mar 28, 2017 10:14:40 GMT
I have only just found this thread. I bought a horse from Holly Garrett five years ago. She pretended NOT to be a dealer and also the horse was drugged when I tried her. Although I was told the horse was a safe hack, she had barely had a saddle on her back and when I took delivery of her, she bolted with me and I was knocked unconscious and suffered concussion and three broken ribs. Naturally, she blamed my riding. I kept the horse but had to start her from scratch again and it was a long process as she was extremely nervous and spooky. Not the horse's fault but clearly not what I thought I was buying. I would like to see this woman out of business as I keep coming across more and more of her victims. At least the horse I purchased from her was sound and I used my own vet for the vetting. But the fact is, it could have been far far worse.
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Post by corinnes on Aug 23, 2017 21:51:52 GMT
NEVER BUY HORSES FROM THIS WOMAN. I worked for holly many years ago when I was only a teenage. She is a compulsive liar and Is purely in the equine industry to take people's money. Thoughtout my time working for holly I saw numerous things which worried me but only being 14 did not do anything about. She ran a riding school and still does to this date in castle camps. When I worked with her she would buy horses from dodgy dealers, when visiting, horses would be running wild some still plaited up clearly dumped from shows. These horse were all under £1000 and some very beautiful looking but clearly it was a dodgy place and some were very sick. She told me they were not bought legally. She regularly bought horses from here bringing in strangles onto her yard (my poor horse ended up catching this as she did this regularly) ponies also had to be sent back due to having contagious life threatening diseases. She would bring these horses and ponies straight off the lorry and into the riding school immediately knowing nothing about them or their health. She would purchase the horses and ponies for under £1000 sometimes under £600 and sell them on for thousands to people who had no clue. She does not give a flying F*CK about the horses or anyone but the money. Unfortunately I had my horse stabled on her yard and as I said before she ended up contracting strangles, pheuomonia and was invested with worms as holly was meant to be worming her as part of me working for her, she was not worming at all. She was numerously advised by the vet the check all the horse on the yard for strangles and she never did as this 'would of cost thousands'. The riding school ponies are slaved away and ridden again and again with minimal rests between rides. The so called 'instructors' are not qualified in any way to teach and the girl I spoke to today whom taught my sister at hollys riding school was 18 with 6 years riding experience (not someone who should be teaching children in my eyes) although she was very pleasent. When I worked for holly I also was made to teach at 14 and unqualified. Watch out for this woman she is bad news! Don't give her your money for anything.
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Post by dollyshorse on Mar 29, 2018 9:54:39 GMT
Thank you so much for these posts about Prestige and Holly. I am so glad I read these before going to view a horse for my daughter at this yard. It looks perfect on paper but only one video despite apparently competed all over, which raised my suspicions, plus Holly said the ad had gone live only the day before yesterday however when I challenged this as it had been advertised last month, she changed to say the snow and Holly's competing had prevented any viewings. The owners apparently had the horse from birth, photos include that of a foal, but in that scenario I'd assume the owners would want to vet new owners themselves. I have already come across so many untruths from people selling horses, where on earth can you find someone trustworthy, so frustrating?
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club
Newbie
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Post by club on Apr 10, 2018 21:32:06 GMT
Thank you so much for these posts about Prestige and Holly. I am so glad I read these before going to view a horse for my daughter at this yard. It looks perfect on paper but only one video despite apparently competed all over, which raised my suspicions, plus Holly said the ad had gone live only the day before yesterday however when I challenged this as it had been advertised last month, she changed to say the snow and Holly's competing had prevented any viewings. The owners apparently had the horse from birth, photos include that of a foal, but in that scenario I'd assume the owners would want to vet new owners themselves. I have already come across so many untruths from people selling horses, where on earth can you find someone trustworthy, so frustrating?
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club
Newbie
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Post by club on Apr 10, 2018 21:56:09 GMT
By the sounds of it we have been interested in the same horse. He was advertised last month, we viewed him, made an offer and paid a GBP500 deposit since apparently someone was supposed to come back for a second viewing the same day. Holly said that if we paid the deposit she would cancel the other viewing and even gave me a hand written receipt. Holly seemed to be very nice and helpful, I also explained that we wanted to buy the horse for my daughter who was very upset since her current pony has to be retired due to a reoccurring problem. She claimed the owner wanted to stay in contact with the new owners so I asked for their number. I had a long conversation with the owner in Ireland who said that they had bred the horse and still own the mother. Their Facebook page seemed to support the story. We tried the horse on Sunday, he was sound when ridden and jumped in the school and trotting on the road outside the stable. When he was vetted on Wednesday the vet said he was significantly lame. I have not heard from Holly since, she ignores my messages and has not returned the deposit. I have texted the owners who now say that Holly owns the horse and it therefore has nothing to do with them! I am going to take legal steps to get my money back. After reading some of the comments I feel we had a lucky escape. We would have been devastated if we had brought the horse home on Thursday to find out that he was lame. I saw recently that he was advertised again. I hope people read these posts and take note so that they don't have to join the club of being dubbed by HG.
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Post by blingbabe on Nov 17, 2018 2:05:49 GMT
Has anybody tried to sue this girl? My friend has also just been duped into buying an £8000 horse which apparently had only just been vetted and she even gave her the vetting paperwork, however on calling the vet it turned out it was done 2 years ago, she had altered the date. My friend got her vet up to check him out and it's ibeen drugged and has all sorts of issues. She's claiming it was a private sale. She surely can't keep getting away with this. Has anyone informed the Bsja? On Horse and Hound she still has another 3 horses for sale and puts the name Rosie next to the telephone number. She must be stopped.
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Post by waspblue on Nov 17, 2018 23:57:13 GMT
Oh my God, and people wonder why I am not excited about buying a new horse...if I was terrified before, then I'm a hundred times worse after reading this thread, as I am certain there are many more Hollys out there. I feel for each and every one of you, trouble is that it is not only dealers that misrepresent horses for sale, private sellers are just as bad in a lot of cases, at least with a dealer you do have some protection in consumer law, however by the time you have found out what the issues are it is usually too late and someone has had an accident. I know as it happened to me via a private seller, who knowingly sold me a pony that was a well established bolter and had already caused their own daughter to have an accident at a clinic, yet they still sold him to me without a shred of conscience whatsoever, resulting in me having a very serious accident indeed. I will never forgive them for what they did to me and for no good reason other than to try to recover some money back on a pony that they had apparently been told the daughter wouldn't be capable of riding it because it was a bit quirky, but they were stupid and thought it just took money and no skill to win thus causing more problems for themselves and losing a small fortune. I virtually gave him away to a safe home in the end where I knew he would be understood.
Where horses and money are concerned, it is so difficult to trust anyone. As for me I will listen to my gut feeling in future always, as it is nearly always right.
Good luck everyone in getting this terrible woman brought to rights.
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Post by gillwales on Nov 18, 2018 22:48:34 GMT
may I suggest that those of you with these bad experiences get together and contact Trading Standards. If there are a lot of you they may decide to prosecute her.
Good luck
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Post by blingbabe on Nov 19, 2018 23:44:53 GMT
If anyone is interested on working on trying to get her to court please message me. My friend is trying to get as much information and evidence against her to try and help get her money back. Please message me privately if you think you can help.
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Post by bloss on Feb 8, 2019 19:01:23 GMT
I bought a horse from Holly in May 2018 he was advertised as 15.2 schoolmaster. When we saw him he looked smaller than 15.2 when questioned Holly said that he was 15.1 it was difficult to tell without a measuring stick and relied on Holly as an instructor and dealer to at least being a little honest.
On getting him home he started violently head shake we raised this with Holly who apart from the giving advise to try a nose net did not want to know. Our vet confirmed that he was a head shaker and also that he was only 14.3. We sent her a formal "right to reject" letter asking her to collect the horse, she responded to say that she could not have him back but would have him back to sell him on my behalf!!!!
Holly claimed that she had the horse for a year and was only selling as she was giving up the riding school. Another lie, he had been at her yard less than a month. He was bought over from Ireland by another dealer in Kent in February 2018, he moved to Holly's yard in April 2018 and we bought him in the May. She is also still running the riding school.
I cannot speak for all horses that she has sold but from my experience Holly Anne Garrett is a liar and certainly not to be trusted by anyone wishing to buy a horse. Future buyers please beware, you are unlikely to get the truth about the horses and its history. If you pay a deposit and it fails the vetting you are unlikely to get your money back. If there is a problem with the horse Holly will walk away and cut of any communications after two weeks (the old cooling off period). Oh and don't send any letters to the yard address as apparently her landlord doesn't accept mail on her behalf. I think that says it all, as soon as it goes wrong she is gone, gone gone.
Will happily provide more information and evidence (got plenty of both) if it helps stop this individual.
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Post by blingbabe on Feb 9, 2019 15:51:44 GMT
Hey bloss Sorry you have the experience of this crook. She's even registered with the Bsja and can't believe she has not been banned! If you can message me with your email I will pass it on to my friend who will contact you as she is currently in a legal process with her. Thanks
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Post by lizziegibson on Mar 10, 2019 22:08:36 GMT
Hey bloss Sorry you have the experience of this crook. She's even registered with the Bsja and can't believe she has not been banned! If you can message me with your email I will pass it on to my friend who will contact you as she is currently in a legal process with her. Thanks Please can you contact me? I’ve just joined this thread and not sure how to message etc...
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Post by goldenchampion on May 4, 2019 19:23:59 GMT
She is indeed a crook. I bought a horse from her many years ago and I have been very lucky as he’s worth a lot of money- turns out she missed out on that one. However the start wasn’t smooth- he passed a 5 stage with a ‘bump’ from the field- turns out it was a sarcoid she hid with sudacrem. He was sold as a novice ride- he was mega green and I’ve been lucky enough to have him schooled professionally.
I contacted her and when I took him from her, she made me sign a disclaimer that she wouldn’t have him back because she knew. She posed as a private seller in Horse and Hound- I contacted them and told them to take her adverts down, they did but she reposted under other names. I contacted Trading standards and they did nothing. Others didn’t heed my warning as they saw how lovely my horse was and one ended up getting one with a bad back who had to be retired and the other one I don’t know what happened but I think he broke.
It’s unreal that she is still going.
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Post by melinar on May 6, 2019 16:42:06 GMT
Greetings from Finland. I Lost 1000 pounds. I bought a horse named Faline from Holly Garrett. I sent her money and started to organise transport. Suddenly she wrote that she doesn't want to sell this horse to me. It was asking and been suspicious so she said. I think someone paid more of Faline. We had legal deal but she didn't care. She returned some money but refused To returned 1000 pounds. I have informed police but it is difficult to do something from here. If someone is going to court please inform.
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