Excitement turns to Depression.

Kerry and Paul Dunstan contacted us and told of a friend, Joan Bell, who had been inadvertently caught up in the EI drama. We contacted Joan at her Belrose Park Stud in Seville, Victoria, to hear her story.

“I am a small stud owner with ten mares and was looking on the internet with a friend, Elia Lom, for some semen for our Riding Pony mares. We came across Ainthorpe Graceful Sonnet and instantly fell in love with him. We knew his full sister, Ainthorpe Grace Darling, that had been show here by Darren Telford. So we contacted Jerome Harforth, who was standing the stallion at Standley Grange Stud in England and asked him about acquiring frozen semen. Jerome explained that if we used frozen semen, it would need to go through quarantine so, it might be easier to buy the pony. We had never thought of buying him, but it just happened that his owner, Mr. Champion, had decided that at 83 year old, all the ponies were getting a bit much for him and he would like to scale down. We thought it was fate and just meant to be.

“Elia and I thought about it a lot and decided it would be a good idea, so we negotiated a price and booked the airfare and quarantine through IRT. “Billy” was due to come out of quarantine in Sydney on Wednesday the 22nd August, and then he was leaving with some racehorses to arrive at our place on Friday 24th. We were so excited and had taken the Friday off work, but also anxious, as we had not seen the pony in the flesh, just photos and a video. On Tuesday we received an email saying there was a problem at the quarantine station and the pony would not be released until Thursday. Then on Wednesday we were notified that the pony was being held for at least 30 days more, due to a horse in quarantine testing positive for Equine Influenza. All the horses entering Australia had been vaccinated for EI, but on Wednesday they were all vaccinated again.

“We have not had much communication from the DPI since, but we do get two emails from IRT each week. Each Tuesday nasal swabs are taken and on Friday they take blood. However, last Tuesday we were notified that they would be doing the nasal swap on Wednesday as NSW had run out of nasal swabs. Unfortunately one of these swabs came back positive for viral spores and that meant all the horses start the 30 day quarantine again. We were sent another email stating, “it is difficult to assess when the horses will be released”. If another horse tests positive during the 30 days, he may be there until Christmas, and then who knows if we will be able to get him back to Victoria. It is all so depressing.

“I had placed ads for him in Horse Deals and in the Riding Pony Magazine and had 20 mares booked in to him this season, which now may not be able to use him. We have also been told we are liable for all the quarantine costs, but they can not give us a daily figure, as we paid for the flight and quarantine combined, but we have been told from others it is about $45-50 a day. Who knows when I will get to see Billy in the flesh”!