Our family purchased an AMAZING gelding in October 2017 from GHC and are here again in Germany to…read morepurchase a second one because our experience was amazing last year! Put it this way: the selection was so classy, we had to try 25% of the horses a second time. This year, we just cannot make our mind up between two of them because they are well above expectation. As was the case last year, our entire 1 week excursion was expertly planned, all of the partners were amazing (we visited 11 different stations), and what we like the most is that the partners have NO issue telling you that certain horses aren't a good fit. After my daughter struggled a bit with one, that partner told me it just wasn't her horse--this was the most expensive horse on our trial and that trainer stood to make A LOT of money on it. But the priority was the fit, not the commission. That should say it all! EVERY partner we have dealt with has done this, even if the best fit were less expensive.
When I read the poor review below, I think it is obvious to any horse person that those buyers have questionable situations, questionable experience levels, and questionable training. For one, no horse starts stopping after 6 months if it were a prior behavior. Anyone can technically win at any venue and that doesn't make you an expert on horses. We have all seen horrific riders win win win.... Between both of our visits and the numerous partners we met with, I can say with 150% certainty that they would do anything to work with the buyer, even months after purchase, to help figure out the problem and solve it to the best of their ability from afar. And guess what? Sometimes that fix is something very simple! What less experienced horse people may see as quack advice may have been well-tested and proven useful to professional horsemen who have been in this industry their whole lives, some partners for multiple generations even. Cutting supplements, etc--yes, this can make a huge difference. If these buyers thought simple advice wouldn't fix the problem and nor did their trainer, it sounds like those horses deserve new owners and trainers, sorry.
To blame Stefan and GHC is beyond ridiculous. He is the agent, not the owner, not the trainer. He only knows what information is given to him by the partners. I find it hard to believe via my repeated experience that ANY of the partners would misrepresent their horses AT ALL! I have actually seen the opposite as reported by one review stating that horses were stated to be ready for a certain level but were not. We noted that some horses online had not had their bios updated and were competing ABOVE the described assessment, for example one mare doing 1.40m in the records when her bio stated she was ready for 1.30m.
Horses are living creatures who have feelings. If the horse is unhappy, sure, it can create negative behaviors in frustration. Maybe these reviewers should be looking more at themselves, their trainers, and their attitudes versus the horses who are only trying to please and do their job.
