A Dressage Competitor Buys a Prospect Sight Unseen
By Anne Montgomery
Buying a yearling dressage prospect sight unseen may sound crazy to most people. The mere idea flies in the face
of conventional wisdom. After all, buying a horse is not an insignificant purchase. It is an investment in the future, so why not take all possible care to ensure a good choice by seeing the horse in person? Who would take such a risk?
Without meaning to, I did take the risk. For me, it worked out far better than I ever imagined, although I certainly would not recommend it to everyone. Finding Bentley was a combination of knowing people with a good eye, and pure luck.
Back in 2002, my friend Karen traveled to Canaan Ranch in Fulshear Texas to purchase a Young Rider’s horse for her daughter. While there, Bentley was born. At the time, I was looking for a pasture buddy for my Holsteiner gelding at my farm in Washington. By “pasture buddy” I was thinking along the lines of “free pony.” No way could I afford to buy another horse after importing the first one! A year later, the search for a horse friend had gone nowhere.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, Karen had been cruising websites looking for horses for me. While she does not ride, Karen spent years by the side of the arena watching her daughter ride and soaked up an amazing amount of knowl- edge. This woman has an eye for horseflesh, and does not take no for an answer, so it was with some trepidation that I returned her frenzied call that “she had found a horse for me.”
“Bentley is for sale!” she exclaimed. “I’ve already negotiated a good price, ordered a video, and called for a vet check!” I was speechless. The little voice in my head whispered sound advice to feign death. It was better than having to tell my husband another horse was on the way.
The video arrived, and it was of Bentley’s keuring. (This was a breed inspection event where he was awarded a Premium status, and accepted into the Oldenburg Society of North America.) His pedigree was top notch, out of a Hanoverian mare “Samantha,”and by Bretone (by Brentano II).
I had my
friend and trainer Jill Seely review both video and still pic- tures. I found another person to share the transport costs from Texas, and then had my vet review the test results and x-rays from the vet check. I decided to pull the trigger on the purchase.
Two weeks later, we arrived at the transport agent’s to pick up my new little guy. We found a shy little dark bay who appeared slightly shell-shocked. He was incredibly well mannered. Having dealt with yearlings in the past, I had
Anne and Bentley form a great partnership over the years.
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expected some trouble asking him to get in yet another trailer, but Bentley followed me out of the barn, hopped right in and we were off on our new adventure.
I have heard many horror stories about the “sight unseen” purchase that turned into a nightmare, including having a horse delivered that was not the horse in the picture. My experience turned out well, but only because I followed some rules I set for myself:
1. If at all possible, go see the horse yourself and take a professional or knowledgeable friend with you for the more traditional way to view a prospect. If you cannot personally go view the horse, make sure you are dealing with a well known breeding or sale barn, or with a rep- utable agent. Not only did I have eyes on the ground to see Bentley at his foaling, I also had seen the horse my friend bought from this particular farm, and knew they were building a reputation for producing quality young-
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