One chapter in the legal drama concerning the medal winning FEI Dressage Pony stallion Power and Paint seems to have come to an end. The 17-year old German Reitpony stallion will be sold to the highest bidder at an executorial sale tomorrow at Stable Korenbloem in Weert, The Netherlands, on 26 May 2010 at 10.30am.

The pony shot to infamy when, in October 2007, the pony was photographed being lunged in extremely short side reins. Since then, there has been a legal dispute between the pony's owners and the family who were leasing him. Power and Paint was passed as fit by the vet, but once in training for competition, it became apparent that he had ongoing soundness issues.

Power and Paint was a medal winning member of the Dutch pony team under Marrigje van Baalen, Mara de Vries and Angela Krooswijk. His last rider, Rachell Fokker, never made it on the team as the pony became lame. He has permanent and irreparable damage to a tendon on the foreleg and can no longer be used for sport.

A legal battle arose between the Fokker family and Power and Paint's previous owners, the Pasch family. The former party claims that the pony was sold with an existing injury they were not made aware of during the pre-purchase exam. Power and Paint was confiscated by the court and held under custody at Stable Korenbloem in Weert.

In this custody period, German owner Renate Pasch, however, did not pay the boarding fee, nor the large amount of veterinary bills, to Korenbloem. The Dutch stable went to court itself to enforce a payment and Pasch was sentenced to pay her bills. As she still refuses to settle her account for keeping her pony in custody, Power and Paint will now be sold at auction in this executorial sale. The Pasch family has until today (Tuesday May 25) to clear their statement of indebtedness.

Maastricht based bailiff Ramona Batta published an advertisement in several Dutch newspapers, including Dagblad de Limburger, for the executorial sale of Power and Paint. Batta announced that she will be selling the roan pony stallion (by Power Boy x Dancer) in public.

"The pony will be sold by auction, incl. VAT, with no extra charge. Only cash payments are accepted. The sale will happen according to the conditions available on the scene. Bidders have to carry identification."

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Reproduction of this story by kind permission of Eurodressage.com.