A HORSE breeder who sold a "dangerous" pony to the mother of a 12-year-old novice rider was jailed for a year yesterday.
Natalie Whittington-Davies attempted to pervert the course of justice when she was subsequently sued by the woman for selling the "excitable" animal.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard how she had lodged forged documents during the civil case in an att
empt to prevent the action succeeding.
Whittington-Davies, 26, also forged a vet's signature on application forms to obtain nine "equine passports" – required to sell horses and ponies.
Whittington-Davies, whose family operates a stud in Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire, with links to Horse of the Year Show winner Robert Oliver – had sold the "schoolmaster" pony, named Pepsi, to Sally Murray, from Perthshire, to be used to train her daughter.
Depute fiscal Ron Phillips told the court: "The term schoolmaster is the name given to a horse that has such a temperament that it is safe to be ridden by children.
"Miss Murray bought the horse for £2,000. She was not given a horse passport, but was told it would be sent to her.
"The purchaser soon discovered the horse was not as presented and came to the conclusion that the horse was much too excitable to be safe for her daughter to ride. She contacted the accused and told her she would be returning the horse."
But despite returning the animal, Miss Murray was not reimbursed, and she began civil court proceedings.
Mr Phillips said Whittington-Davies lodged several forged documents with the court. One letter purported to be from Miss Murray, in which she allegedly stated everything was "going well" with her daughter.
Another was a horse passport, with the forged signature of a vet, John Donald, from Moray Coast Veterinary Practice in Nairn.
Mr Phillips continued: "The effect of these letters was to support the accused's assertion that Pepsi was a proper schoolmaster and to discredit the pursuer as irresponsible in the way she returned the horse."
Mr Phillips added: "The facts of this case show Natalie Whittington-Davies is a thoroughly irreputable and dishonest individual who has no respect for the court and appears to have little or no concerns to the risks attached to young people riding horses."
He told the court the horse breeder had also forged Mr Donald's signature on nine passport application forms between March and November 2006. They also bore the veterinary group's stamp.
These forgeries confirmed that the qualified veterinary surgeon had examined and identified the horses and ponies named in the applications, claiming the details were correct. She offered these as genuine when presenting the applications to the Horse Passport Agency in Derby, as a result of which she was issued with false passports.
The defence lawyer, David Hingston, claimed the passport was simply an identification card
and had nothing to do with safety. However, Mr Hingston said his client admitted fraudulently obtaining the documents using forged signatures and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Whittington-Davies wept as the sheriff, Alexander Pollock, jailed her for one year for committing two serious offences between 2006 and 2007.
Earlier this year Whittington-Davies lost a civil case regarding the sale of another pony, called Tony. She was accused of "kidnapping" the pony, holding it to ransom and falsifying a horse passport.
Ann Chisholm, 42, had bought Tony for her daughter Jenna, but within days claimed it was unsuitable for a child, as it bucked wildly. She requested her money back from Whittington-Davies, who refused.
A sheriff ordered her to pay Mrs Chisholm £4,650.
BACKGROUNDSINCE 2005 all horses, ponies and donkeys have required passports in the UK.
The penalty for not having one is a fine of up to £5,000 and a number of horse owners have received police cautions.
The passports cost £21.
Horses bought without passports are often older than advertised or stolen.The vendor is legally required to hand the passport over at the time of sale and it is illegal to transport the animal home without it.
After the purchase, the buyer has 30 days to transfer the passport into their name, which can be done online.
British passports are a cream colour, A5 in size with the basic horse and owner details on the front page with the silhouette on the back page.
The full article contains 736 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
