A local couple used an advert in the prestigious Horse and Hound magazine to con caring owners into handing over their elderly animals, a court heard. The lonely hearts-style advert offered a loving home and even assured owners that slightly lame or problem horses were welcome. But when owners turned up to visit their beloved animals at Liphook, Hampshire they found they had vanished, it was said. One woman discovered her grey mare Toppy's feeding bucket, but no trace of the animal, the court heard. Another was told her horse had gone to Wales and she never saw it again, it was alleged.

Fred and Mary Keet had told her and other horse lovers their animals would become "companion horses" used to keep other lonely horses company and they allegedly told them they were welcome to visit Hammer Trout Farm, Hammer Vale near Liphook, Hampshire to check on their progress. But prosecutor Garth Richardson outlined seven cases where animals had simply vanished or were sold on at auction.
He said that when concerned owners tried to ring the Keets they found the number printed in the advert was often unobtainable. Mr Richardson said Fred Keet (48) and his 46-year-old wife ran the scam for five years along with their daughter Julie and her boyfriend Rory Simpson, regularly advertising in Horse and Hound. He stated: "The nature of their scam was to advertise for what is known in the horseriding fraternity as companion horses."
They placed an advert in Horse and Hound saying:
"Wanted: a companion horse - age and looks immaterial. Slight lameness or problem horses not objected to. Loving home awaits with stable and grazing".

After seeing the advert owners of the horses got in touch with the defendants. The owners told the defendants they would like to see where the horses are, go and visit them and continue to take an interest in them. They also insisted their animals would not be sold on without them having first refusal - these were treasured possessions. The prosecution case is that those requirements and conditions were not met. In some cases those horses were in fact sold on. In some cases those horses have just disappeared and been disposed of in some other way by the defendants. Many people would never see their animals again. Owners of these horses say they would never have handed them over had they known this and they were deceived.

Mr Richardson told the jury at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire of one case where it is claimed owner Trudy Burlington loaned the Keets her horse, Toppy. When she went to visit Hammer Trout Farm, where she was told the horse would be kept, there was no sign of the animal. Mr Richardson said: "The owner went to the farm to check on Toppy but could not see her anywhere. She recognised Toppy's bucket hanging up at the stables. It was there,but Toppy was not."

On another occasion owner Jeannette Butt answered the magazine advert. She telephoned the number and spoke to a woman who gave her name as Mary Griffiths - alleged to be one of Mary Keet's aliases. Mr Richardson said: "The woman asked if she could buy the horse, Misty. Miss Butt said no, but offered to loan the horse for a month. She said if every thing was OK the agreement could continue."
A month later Miss Butt visited the farm to satisfy herself her horse was being looked after. It seemed to be all right. However, after about two months when she went to visit again, Misty had gone. When she telephoned, Mary Keet said her daughter had taken the horse to Wales. She was reassured Misty would be back, but she never saw the horse again.

A third owner, Christine Richards, told the Keets it was important her 19-year-old pony, Sonnett, would be kept somewhere her children could visit. She spoke to the Keets' daughter, Julie, who reassured her they would find the pony a permanent home. But the horse vanished from the farm. It was later purchased by a woman at a livery in Kent for £612. The Keets, of Farncombe, Godalming, Surrey deny conspiring to obtain property by deception between January 1995 and November 2000. Their 27-year-old daughter and her boyfriend Simpson, (25), of Paddock Way, Petersfield, deny the same charge.
Stable owner Christine Richards told the court she agreed to sell her pony, Sonnett, for a token fee after being assured it would be kept where her children could visit. Mrs Richards said: "A woman calling herself Julie showed great interest in having Sonnett as a companion to her show jumper. Sonnett had a tendon injury and so could not be ridden properly but I wanted somewhere, she could enjoy the rest of her life. Originally I wanted her to go as a loan pony. Julie expressed her wish to purchase Sonnett because as a loan pony I could take her back at any time. I reluctantly agreed to the sale at £200, which was what I would call a token amount - what one might have got at an abattoir. The condition was my children could visit at any time. I also said a small child could sit on her, but she wasn't to be used as a proper riding pony."
Mrs Richards. from Arundel, West Sussex. said that in 1996 she inspected Hammer Trout Farm where Sonnett was to be kept and was "quite happy" it was a good home. After handing over the pony she tried to ring Julie Simpson, an alias allegedly used by Julie Keet, to check on Sonnett's progress. but could not get through. When she called at the farm about three months later there was no sign of the pony and she said she was unable to get in contact with Julie Simpson. It was not until 1999 that she found Sonnett had been sold to a woman living on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
Mrs Richards added: "I understood Sonnett was to have a permanent home where my children could visit. I would definitely not have taken her there if I had known that wasn't the case."

Winchester Crown Court heard that some other owners had been paid a £100 fee as part of loan agreements proposed by the Kcets.

David Guy, an officer from the International League for the Protection of Horses, said loan agreements were common practice for companion horses. However, he told the court, it was unusual for a horse's owner to be offered money to loan their horse as a companion.

The update....

A jury took just over two hours to convict the pair and their daughter Julie following a seven-week trial at Winchester Crown Court.
The family had been arrested following a four-year police investigation.
Julie Keet (26) sat sobbing between her parents in the dock, as she heard Judge Michael Broderick refuse a request to reveal her likely sentence.
Defence barrister Katy Thorne asked the judge to "lay at rest the minds of Julie's children, who, she said, would be in fear of their mother and grandparents being sent to prison. But Judge Broderick insisted he needed to know "more about thedefendants" and bailed all three until sentencing on March 22.
Rory Simpson, the boyfriend of Julie Keet, was found not guilty of conspiracy to obtain property by deception, the charge on which the Keets were convicted. Fred Keet (48), his wife Mary (46) and their daughter had run the scam for five years, regularly advertising in Horse and Hound and then selling horses on through such places as "Free Ads" newspapers.
Prosecuter Garth Richardson told of concerned owners later trying to contact the Keets through the number printed in the magazine and finding them unobtainable. He said: "The nature of their scam was to advertise for what is known in the horseriding fraternity as companion horses." They placed an advert in Horse and Hound saying, `Wanted: a companion horse - Loving home awaits with stable and grazing.'
The owners told the defendants they would like to see where the horses are, go and visit them - these were treasured possessions. They also insisted their animal would not be sold on without them having first refusal. In some cases those horses have just disappeared and been disposed of in some other way by the defendants. Many people would never see their animals again. They say they would never have handed them over had they known this and they were deceived.
The court had heard evidence from 16 women who had handed over their horses to the Keets. Many had described Mary Keet, who has three convictions for theft and dishonesty, as being "caring" and "sympathetic" towards them.
The defence claimed the Keets of Farncombe, and their daughter of Paddock Way, Petersfield, had been the victims af over-zealous policing. It was also claimed that owners didn't really believe they had been tricked but had simply felt guilty that they had sold their ailing animals. They alleged that, when contacted by officers who were following up a single complaint, they had, through guilt and embarrassment, jumped on a bandwagon.
But the jury returned three guilty verdicts on the Keets. Judge Broderick had told them they must decide whether the defendants' formulaic behaviour constituted a criminal offence. He said: `The prosecution point is a pattern consisting of an advert, a telephone, reassurance being given.' "The prosecution say you can distinguish the necessary inferences to say this was a conspiracy." The Keets were given unconditional bail to appear for sentencing in one month's time.

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(With thanks to Liz Waller of Horse-Talk UK for sending this to us.)

      

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