Stormhaven Farms Susan Bates Horse seller misrepresents horse in advertising Caldwell, Idaho

I  am responding to this womans false report against Stormhaven Farms and myself, Susan Bates. I am the owner of said farm and the horse in question Rex. This report against us is completely false and a lie, and I can prove it with many, many witnesses and the three youn girls who have been riding this horse for over a year  in lessons.

Rex does not buck, he is ridden both hunt seat, dressage,, and Western, by 13 and 14 year olds, regularly. They bathe him, he clips and loads. The woman who posted this is very short and heavy and , by her own admission, not a good rider. When she saw my ad, she began calling, using a medieval "Lady something" name, with a phony English accent, asking questions as if she were a buyer.

She later called again, this time telling me she was his previous owner , and stating that she had his brand inspection and though I paid 2,000 for him (in lieu of a board bill by his second owners), I did not own him. In other words, she wanted to resell him. I informed her we had all the correct paperwork, including the bill of sale from her to the other owners, and a bill of sale from them to me. I legally own this horse , and have for three years. He has been ridden regularly in fields and in the arena, and has received proper training from us all this time. He has no spook in him, he is a teenagers lesson horse.

The following week, she showed up with yet ANOTHER "name", pretending to be a "buyer".
My barn manager, Dee Matlock, knew who she was, as she had been warned . She kicked the woman off of the property. Two days later, this person posted a similar ad to what she has posted here  on Craigs List. 

We have been in  the horse business for thirty years, we have shown to a National level, and we are breeders. The fact is, this woman, whatever her REAL identity is, tried to "scam" us, and when it did not work, she began to slander and libel us. I have contacted an atty in this matter, and if further posts are made against us like this lie, we will b suing her.Anyone interested in riding this horse (who knows how to ride) may contact me personally.

We are happy to furnish credible witnesses to everything I am stating here.

I am a working student at Stormhaven Farms.  Either a friend or myself rides Rex every week.  We have ridden him in the arena, around the barn, and in a large field.  He is calm and relaxed wherever we ride him.  We ride him dressage and western, he does well in both.  We have led young children around on him, and complete beginners have ridden him.  He stands to be bathed, lunges nicely, stands to be trimmed, and clips. 

You can see from Susan's prior reply that she has a very vivid imagination and likes to make up her own details.  Three people?  No, I called her once and told her who I was.  I know a friend called her asking for information but I don't know about this third caller. 

When I went out to her place, she knew who I was as evidenced by my reception.  I told her who I was, told her I was not interested in the horse, but wanted to see how he was since I had owned him and was curious about how he was doing now.

Susan is obviously very paranoid that she is going to get ripped off herself.  I would say that those who are that paranoid must be paranoid for a reason.  If I thought I was going to claim the horse, wouldn't I have just done it?  I never said I still owned the horse or was interested in taking him back.

As another proof of her character, here is the text of her latest ad:

"GENTLE and good looking, VERY well trained, tobiano paint gelding, 14.3 hands, gentle disposition and has been ridden on trails, used for beginner lessons, trained in dressage and more. Looking for a GREAT home and rider(s) with light hands. Ridden english and western, dressage, bareback. Rex is a real sweetheart and very good about being groomed, trimmed, loaded, and ridden - no buck and very calm and safe. Owner needs to downsize herd ASAP. Priced low because we do not have papers. Great horse for someone that is already riding and/or taking lessons. Rex is a very young 17 and has many more years of riding, as he has been used gently - no joint or other issues, no lameness, no illness. Lots of trail experience - no spook. Guaranteed sound. Rex recently had a vet check at Idaho Equine and passed with flying colors plus the vet remarked that Rex has GREAT feet. Current on hoof care and vaccinations. Price is OBO to the right home; will trade for good quality alfalfa or grass hay. Serious inquiries only, please..."

Susan implies in this ad that the horse has papers.  She knows that he has no papers, has never had papers, and cannot be papered.  She says outright that he has been ridden on trails and has lots of trail experience.  She, in her rebuttal and in the second rebuttal, hasn't said he's been on trails.  She has had him in an arena and in a field.  When I talked with her, she said she had never had him out on the trails.  She's misrepresenting to either me or everyone else.  You can't tell it two ways.

She still insists he has no buck yet she knows he did buck in the past.  He may have stopped bucking now because he's 17 years old, but she knows he has bucked in the past and she refuses to acknowledge this.  He is still spooky.  A look at his physical form will confirm this.

She has been trying to sell him ASAP for two years now and her price started at $2500 and is now down to $900, hay, or best offer.

I don't know where she got her information about me as a rider given that she never knew me or what I did with the horse.  The person from whom she got the horse didn't know me or ever meet me, either.  She bought him through a third-party.  Any information she says about me is purely fictitious because we'd never met before the day she chased me off the property.   I never realized that 5 ft. 5in was very short and when she saw me I had just gotten through with one year of chemo and radiation and due to the treatment was out of shape but not obese.  She doesn't know anyone I know so I don't know how she can pass judgement on how I ride or how I kept the horse.

Susan is already threatening to sue me.  I would say she's welcome to try but she might want to look up the definition of slander.  It's lies told with the explicit purpose to defame.  I haven't told any lies.  I have already shown how she has lied through making implied statements and not revealing the entire truth.  If she does decide she wants to sue, she can pay for my lawyers fees when I counter-sue for them in her lawsuit.  Her claim wouldn't hold water and she will end up loosing a lot of money.

Rex's price is down due to the economy and due to the fact that though we have had many look and ride him successfully, we are extremely choosy and want a forever home for him first. Idaho is full of horses, and they are in fact being "dumped" and it makes the news here.

Rex has been on trails,is sound, is sane, does not buck, and continues to be ridden by kids from age 13 and up. He is a kind and willing horse who deserves a great home. Lowering his price is a reflection on the economy ,not on the horse.

Nowhere do I imply he has papers, I state he does not, very clearly. This woman is angry over the fact that she lied to get on this place and treated us with great disrespect and has nothing better to do, obviousl,than continue to fabricate stories.

As to the ads. They are written by a good friend and client who has purchased a horse from me and knows me quite well, as do our working students. she does them for me, due to the fact that I am busy most days and she is helping to find him the best home possible.

for those who doubt my rebuttal(s), and the statements of the student who wrote in, I invite you to come see for yourself.

As to this weird person, she needs to get a life, and possible take a reality course..

If the vile lies you are spewing are true, provide your real identity , rather than a phony English medieval name and phony accent. You have never given  your  true identity , even when you drove up the back road onto my property. That speaks volumes. Your stalking me for over two years on the internet also says that you have sme pretty severe  mental problems. I believe you are dangerous. 

My gosh Susan!  Every time you reply to my original post you simply make my case for me.  You sound like a very paranoid individual who employes name-calling and accusations vs a cogent discussion.   I haven't replied since your last diatribe and you accuse me of stalking you?  You're the one who obviously hasn't let this drop. 

You keep accusing me of trying to hide my identity and yet I never did.  You knew who I was when I came on your property and that is why you ran me off.  I gained your permission to be there when I called ahead of time.  You knew perfectly well who I was.  Why would you have Dee run me off the property if you thought I was a prospective buyer?  Before I even set foot on the place you never said anything about me trying to cover up who I was.  You knew who I was, and you've known all along.  Why you were so threatened of me I don't even know.  Why you thought I was trying to claim the horse, I don't know. 

I do know you are misrepresenting the horse.  I know his background as I owned him for several years.  You can't deny that and you can't deny what he was like at that time.  You can lie all you want as to why he bucked and spooked then, but he did.  As I've already said, it was determined he needed to be ridden every day and I was only riding him occasionally.  That is why I sold him, to be with someone who would use him more than I was.  I never said he was a bad horse, he was just very high energy and needed a very firm hand and experienced rider.   I have no qualms about him.  What I do have qualms about is your lies when selling the horse with you knowing, that at least at one time, he did buck and is spooky.  How would you feel if you sold this horse and he injured the rider you sold him to?  I have a conscience and it would bother me an awful lot.

Am I compromising your ability to sell the horse for a premium price?  I've already used your own ads and words to show how you're trying to represent a horse as something that he is not. 

If anyone needs to back up and check their own mental state, it wouldn't  be me.  Perhaps you need to investigate your own conscience and do the honest thing.