Dressage-News

RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 1–Sagacious HF, the USA’s 2007 Pan American Games team gold horse, was left behind at the show grounds which hosted the Raleigh World Cup competition on Sunday when the truck driver said there was no room on the horse van to take him home to New York.

Lauren Sammis, the rider, had already flown home from Raleigh to her children in South Orange, New Jersey, and her groom was left to go back on the truck with Sagacious, owned by Hyperion Farm in Wellington, Florida.

She said that she had arranged to share shipping with former Colombian World Equestrian Games competitor Cesar Parra, now a U.S. citizen whose stable is nearby in New Jersey. The arrangement would save her $1,000 (€700) on shipping of the one horse, Sagacious, that competed in and won the FEI Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle. She said she provided the shipper, whom she declined to identify, with billing information which was accepted.

“Instead of shipping back Saturday night, we kept the horse in the Raleigh stables until Cesar finished competing on Sunday,” she said.

“The truck arrived Sunday and my groom was told there was no room for Sagacious. She phoned me and the driver told me the same thing but that he would make room if I paid by credit card over the phone.

“I have no problem paying in advance if I’m told that is the policy. But we were not told and then to be informed ‘There is no room,’ but that can be changed made me feel very uncomfortable to entrust this million dollar horse to him.”

Sammis called Kevin Hennessy, the owner of Nobody’s Business Farm in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania near the New Jersey state line, to rescue the horse as the show grounds were closing Monday morning. Hennessy drove the 500 miles (800km) to Raleigh overnight and brought the horse home.

“The lesson is don’t put your trust in someone you don’t know to save $1,000, but go with a real professional like Kevin Hennessy who simply responded, ‘Let me get dressed and I’m on my way.'”