Assignment Task
Statement Of Zahrah Mistry
1. I am the sole director and shareholder of Party Ponies Ltd (PP Ltd). I am 34 years old and have ridden horses since I was 4, and owned horses all my adult life. As well as owning thoroughbred horses that I use for show jumping I also have a keen interest in Shetland ponies, particularly the miniature kind. I am very fortunate to be able to combine my love of horses with my work and business.
2. I had the idea of setting up PP Ltd 7 years ago. It started as a side-line but it has proved to be so successful that I gave up my job in the City and now devote my time to PP Ltd. I have a website advertising PP Ltd’s services and clients can book either through the website or by calling the office. I offer various pony themed services, the most popular being a children’s party package. This involves me and PP Ltd staff attending a children’s party with the required number of ponies. The ponies are all attired with appropriately coloured or themed ribbons, headcollars and saddle cloths. The children then get to groom and pet the ponies and ride them where appropriate. The parties are hugely popular and our calendar is heavily populated with bookings. The ponies can also be booked for summer fetes and we have recently started to take the ponies into care homes for the elderly, where they have proved very popular with the residents.
3. Shetland ponies are native to the Shetland Islands in Scotland and are well known for their small stature and hardiness. A standard Shetland pony is between 87cm and 107 cm to its withers – ie to the top of its body/ shoulders. A miniature Shetland is smaller still and does not exceed 87cm to the withers. As a breed they are considered to be confident and good natured, including with children. However, they can also be stubborn and some ponies can be bad tempered and bite. When purchasing ponies, I am always extremely careful to select ponies with a good temperament and I am adamant I would not purchase a pony with any known vices – and I definitely would not buy one that had a tendency to bite.
4. In November 2023 I decided to purchase another Shetland pony for the business. Bookings were increasing and I was keen to acquire a miniature Shetland pony as this smaller size can be used for more events than the larger Shetland pony. Prior to purchasing the pony I visited a number of horse dealers but did not find anything I liked. Then, on 2nd December, I saw an advertisement for a pony called Tingwall Tess on the Horses. The advert indicated that both of her parents had been owned by HM the Queen.
5. I was impressed by the advert. It had a lovely photo of Tess and her mother. I considered her to be a very attractive pony. I also liked the idea of telling clients about her royal connections, but this bloodline and provenance did mean she was more expensive than would otherwise be the case. On 8th December I called the mobile number on the advert and had some detailed discussions with Ms Carruthers. I particularly remember we discussed the nature of my business and requirements as well as possibly visiting the farm. We fixed a firm date for my visit by email.
6. When I went to the livery farm to view Tess on 12th December 2023. I recollect that Tess appeared to be very calm and docile. Ms Carruthers was very clear that Tess had an excellent temperament and was good with children.
7. I have always previously had my horses and ponies checked by a vet before I buy them. This involves the vet checking them for any physical signs of issues and also running blood tests. This costs about £500 for a full vetting. Unfortunately, no veterinary checks were conducted when I saw Tess. When I visited Norfolk Ms Carruthers showed me a recent vetting certificate obtained by another intended purchaser, a Mr Stanley, who was unable to complete the sale for financial reasons. That gave Tess a clean bill of health and so I decided to save money by not repeating the tests.
8. When I got home late on the 12th I emailed Ms Carruthers to confirm I wanted to buy Tess. She emailed back on the 13th with an invoice and a contract for us to sign. To be honest, we were so busy with Christmas parties, I didn’t pay much attention to the clauses at the time. I now realise there were terms that Ms Carruthers argues excludes her liability. We both signed when I collected Tess on 19th December.
9. I had high hopes for Tess, both in terms of using her in the business, and for breeding her in the future. I was very careful to continue with Tess’ former feeding and exercise regime when she came to us, and all of my staff treat our ponies confidently and with kindness. These are factors that are well known as impacting on a pony’s mood and temperament. Unfortunately, the pony has not lived up to my expectations. She was initially quiet in her stable but then Tess became quite aggressive to some of my more inexperienced staff and bit a child at the first party she was used for. This was about 6 weeks after I got her. I did not use Tess for another party for about a month, just in case she was moody due to coming into season. However, that was not the case and when my back was turned at the next party in mid March she bit another child.
10. I have had to pay compensation to avoid claims by both children. The first child was paid £4,000 as Tess bit his face and he needed a couple of stitches. The second child was paid £1500 as her arm was bitten, again necessitating a hospital visit. Needless to say word has got around and my bookings have dropped. I have had a number of cancellations and think this has really damaged Party Ponies’ reputation as well as causing us a loss of profits. I estimate we are about £6,000 down compared to last year’s bookings so far.
11. I cannot understand how different Tess is compared to how she was in Norfolk. At the beginning of April 24, I eventually emailed Ms Carruthers to inform her what had happened and told her that I wanted to return Tess. Ms Carruthers has refused to take the pony back and says she will not pay PP Ltd any compensation, which seems very wrong to me. This has been confirmed by her solicitors.
12. Tess cannot be used for any events at the moment and is costing approximately £30 per week to feed. Although there is the possibility of trying to retrain Tess, this is not something I can undertake, as this is too labour-intensive. It can take approximately 6 months to successfully rehabilitate an aggressive horse and the fees for this are approximately £1500 per month.
13. I would like to either return Tess and get compensation for our losses or, if I have to keep her, I want to be able to claim our losses and the cost of rehabilitating her.