Exam A
Test your knowledge of equine law. by Attorney Krysia Nelson
Look before you strike
dressage judge runs into an old friend who is a dressage trainer. As the two are getting caught up, they come to the
subject of a Grand Prix horse the trainer had competed, who was a particular favorite of the judge’s. The trainer tells the judge that he had leased out the horse, now 18 years old, to a young rider last year and that the horse had just come back off the lease. The trainer was trying to decide whether or not to lease him out again. He says to the judge, “I am just having so much fun with him. I love teaching my students on him. He is just the best schoolmaster—piaffe, passage, tempi changes. He can still do it all. He’s just a class act, you know?” It occurs to the judge that this horse would be
perfect for her daughter. She offers to buy the horse from the trainer—she makes him an offer that he accepts on the spot. He agrees to deliver the horse to her at her farm in three weeks, after he returns from a trip to Europe. On the big day, the trainer drives the horse
to the judge’s farm. When he gets there, he puts the horse in a stall, leaving him bandaged. He goes into the judge’s house, complaining that the traffic was terrible and that he can’t stay to visit because he is behind schedule and has to get going. The judge writes him a check for the agreed upon price, and the trainer takes the check and leaves. The judge then goes out to the barn to check on her new horse. When she takes off his wraps, she is surprised to see that the horse’s hind fetlocks have “dropped” and are practically parallel to the ground. “Well, that’s not right,” she thinks. As it is a Sunday, she waits until the next day to make an appointment with her vet. When the vet arrives the next day, he pronounces the horse crippled as a result of a complete failure (rupture) to his hind suspensory apparatus. He also opines that given the amount of scar tissue that is palpable, that the horse’s hind suspensory ligaments have been in a chronic state of deterioration for many years. “This horse is crippled and he probably hasn’t been sound
48 May/June 2013
for a very long time,” he pronounces. “It would be inhumane to ride him.” The vet offers to euthanize the horse, but the judge declines. The judge tries to call the trainer, but he
won’t take her calls. Then she tries writing to the trainer, but gets no response. Finally, she hires an attorney and files suit against the trainer. The trainer defends the lawsuit on the theory that the horse injured himself after getting to the judge’s farm.
☛ Turn the page for the outcome of this case.
About the author: Krysia Carmel Nelson is an attorney from Virginia who is a nationally- recognized expert in equine law. Attorney Nelson represents horse owners, trainers, riders, breeders, equestrian facilities, farms, clubs and associations across all nationally and internationally recognized disciplines. As a lifelong equestrian, she currently rides and competes her Hanoverian Affirmed on Appeal in the amateur hunters. She can be reached at
eqlaw@aol.com.
© The Book LLC 2011
Bar
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68