jess

The invoices for all my horses (racing & breeding) live in a dusty old folder. And naturally some are electronic these days so no paper involved. I am nowhere near the Equinox league of course but even so - I'm too terrified to ever disturb that dusty folder and start adding up numbers ....

Still beautiful ! Best of luck. J

Using it how? On their own heads? On their horses' tails? All over their horses? Or perhaps it was dispensed via the troughs for the benefit of a visiting dairy herd ...?

Two thoughts: 1. Lots of people start off a bit ordinary in a new role but improve with experience? (maybe we should give them a chance to settle in/develop their skills ...) 2. I don't know their salaries but could it also be a case of "pay peanuts - get ......."? I don't watch much TV trackside so not best placed to comment - what I do watch is muted or fast-forwarded through the presenters - I want to watch the horses pre-race and the race. And that's about it for me.

Missed seeing this (busy at the salt mines so I can fed the equine family ...) - but saw this combo had a win today at Te Aroha. A little bit nostalgic to see these two combine in the winner's circle once more .... remember they were a formidable combination some years back .... Sam has been a brave, talented and durable rider - has not chased rids all over the place for many years now with her family commitments but still has her share of success nevertheless. Good luck to you both. J.

Thanks for this Weasel. I confess I was hoping we could collectively have done better but I am very happy to have contributed - wish her all the best - and thank you for organising it. All the best, Jess.

And that's their right to do so. The thing I object to is publication of such disingenuous dross under the guise of journalism. If The Herald wants to indulge Te Akau with gratis advertising they are free to do so. Just a pity they don't stick a "promotional" tag to it - so the information in the article can be atrributed the credibility (or lack thereof) it's due. Or indeed - so that people can make an informed choice whether or not to even read it. A bit of transparency if you will ....

Thanks. Hard to argue with any of that Freda. Something to bear in mind would be that the adjudicator in such tribunals is unlikely to know much about horses or the central issues - other than contracts. So that person probably had no idea how silly it sounds to most people that an individual who has bred and reared (if that's the case) a horse through to maturity had no idea it was a windsucker. Let alone the significance of windsucking and obligations on vendors to declare such a vice. Do you know whether disputes tribunals are public and whether the outcomes are published? As I've said - I respect your discretion Freda but I am now interested in who these individuals are. I would definitely not want to do business under any circumstances with either person.

Ahhh. Makes more and more sense my Mustelid mate. A senior business reporter who may have little or no knowledge of the industry would have been ripe for the picking. The big guy would have been winking furiously and rubbing his hands together at the mere prospect of such a hapless victim ...

You might be thinking of Samantha, Fred. But perhaps Andrea is an antipodean relative?

Ahhh. Maybe. But don't hold your breath. You can do anything with numbers - and frequently people do. Have you heard the old idiom "Lies, damned lies & statistics" - was it Disraeli who said it? (I stand to be corrected). I have been surprised before when watching events at Karaka, to then read the glowing and positive report at the end of the day on how it stacked up. Sometimes I wondered if their media person and I had been watching the same sale ... ?

Interesting outcome. And without being at the hearing perhaps no-one can say for sure whether it was also a just outcome. Thanks for the update Freda - and for sharing the story in the dignified and discreet way you did. Perhaps as a result, some of us have had the benefit of learning something vicariously. Learning it the easy way - not the hard way like these people unfortunately did. All the best, J.

Some people are simply very very .... oily. ?

Looks like an infomercial to me. Or should that be an advertorial. Didn't look like a balanced piece of journalism to me - but that is just one person's opinion. Who is Andrea Fox?

Phew! Just as well. I get to stay! - Yay!! All the best, J. (owner-breeder of modest performers to date - still hoping for a group winner though!)

I am hearing that the TB man in Manawatu who was caught up in this business has gone quietly (exited his previous place of employment ...). I would be interested to know if anyone here can : A: Confirm this B: Tell us (fellow stakeholders) what this expedient departure (if confirmed) cost the organisation. Rgds, J.

Thx for the update Freda. I'd be v intrstd to hear the outcome. Hard to imagine it was not known the horse was a windsucker. That alone does not look gd for the vendors ... J.

It is an impressive piece of form- no doubt about it - and it's inevitably raised a few eyebrows. But heck thems is harsh words Ashley ... care to elaborate or qualify your comments? Jess

Good work Hesi & Chief. Yep there's one poster I don't care for but I believe to date he falls short of needing a ban. I find little value or pleasure in his posts - but acknowledge others may feel differently. And if he doesn't cross the line (gets close sometimes) I am happy enough to exercise my own editorial decision and I simply no longer tend to read anything he posts.

What a bloody tragedy. So sorry to hear that Gee. And that's my point - it's just not worth it IMO. And there are too many ignorant idiots out there.

Oh is that right BarryB? Pleased to hear it was tongue in cheek. Believe me - there are people who actually think the way your post was written.... and some of them even frequent racing chat-sites ?

Oh bollocks Bazza. He's a grown up and he's been round the block a time or two. Opie is merely doing what Opie wants to do - he has free will! Your view sounds a bit misogynistic to me ....I'm not sure why you'd even think that! It's fair to say Opie seems to be a hard dog to keep on the porch - but I can't see how you could bring any judgement on Emily out of the circumstances as we know them .... It would be lovely if this proved to be the one that lasted for Opie. All the best to them - and bubs.

I'm sure there's no malice in that comment & when I read it out to my mate here he reckoned even Opie would chuckle. P Dwarf - IMO that's one of the funniest quips ever here .... ?

I know what you're saying Pete, but I realised it doesn't work that way a long time ago - around the time Hugh Grant was snapped with one Divine Brown whilst he was with Elizabeth Hurley....

Good spotting Weasel - I see there is nothing myopic about this mustelid ? She was a pretty tidy mare - and it looks like she's gone to nice horses - ableit you probably could have put her to the station-bred colt down the road and it would've won ...