Debbie. “The kind of horse I needed was totally specific: it has to be small enough but look and move fancy enough to be internationally competitive. Some of these para horses are serious; we’re not talking nice-looking back- yard horses here. Michelle has known me long enough to ask the correct questions. She asked a lot about the horses’ behavior, checked their scores online at center-
linescores.com for horses here in the U.S., asked about their behavior away from home and asked if you acci- dentally kick or pull, what happens. I don’t want to get
thrown or break something!” Before she went to England to see Jolie, Debbie and
Michelle had watched countless videos of sales horses. “I was lucky Michelle was on my side and Mette was also looking out for me. No matter how smart you are you need a professional who knows what you need riding- wise and financially. They need to ask the important ques- tions and stay within your guidelines. I didn’t want a four- year-old and I didn’t have an unlimited budget, and Mette knew that upfront.” v
Amy Doran of Supreme Sport Horses in the U.K. sources horses, mainly for dressage, from Europe and sells them to the United States. Her business was established nearly eight years ago.
The Hanoverian Standing Ovation, by Scuderia x Furst Nymphenburg, is a horse Supreme Sport Horses found for Gwen Blake.
Advice from a Horse Dealer “Funnily enough,” saya Amy Doran, “I was not actually ever from a dressage background, but I’ve always owned horses. As a family we were lucky enough to own a World Cup show jumper who gave us the opportunity to be part of the Nations Cups with Team Great Britain, and also was short- listed for the Olympics. The dressage aspect just slowly started to take over; initially I started with jumpers and the odd dressage horse, but I sell very few jumpers now and dressage horses have become the forefront of my business,” Amy says. Amy sells about 30 horses a year and all the horses are
between the ages of three and five years old. “I believe in quality, not quantity,” she says. As a seller of horses, she continues, reputation is every-
thing. “All of our horses are handpicked and selected from some of the best stables in Germany and we believe in being as honest as possible with every sale, hence why we have returning customers. I would say 98 percent of our U.S. sales are made over video with the customer never actually seeing the horse until it arrives at their barn, so for this reason we do additional videos for customers, which can sometimes include tacking up and grooming, and we also video parts of the vet checks,” she adds. “It is important that I work with first-time video buyers and reassure them, and help where I can. Although
transport is not included in the price of our horses, we also arrange all of the bloodwork and tests required for export and assist in organizing the transport itself to take any responsibility off the customer.” The best advice she can give to someone in the market
to buy a horse is to ask around and find an agent with a good reputation. “Word of mouth is the best compli- ment these days, so see where others have bought from and listen to their experiences,” she says. “Read reviews on social media; when you do find a horse and a seller, then ask as many questions as you like, whether you intend to buy over video or fly over and see the horse. And for the seller’s sake, ask the simple questions first! For exam- ple, I personally have had countless buyers ask a whole list of questions, then finally ask the horse’s price, only to discover it is out of budget. This wastes everyone’s time, so make sure you ask the right questions initially, in order of priority for you as a buyer.” Her final advice is to always take into consideration the
cost of transport. “A lot of horse sellers will not include the cost of transport in the horse’s price, me included. Transport is a big part of the outlay and it also depends on whether you purchase a mare, stallion or gelding or a colt/filly under the age of two as to how much you will look to pay. Geldings and horses under two years old are always cheaper, as they do not require the quarantine and amount of tests (blood/CEM, etc.) that a mare or stallion requires over two years of age.”
Warmbloods Today 31
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