Colt at 2-months and his mama pictured second from right

As one well knows, buying an Andalusian is an expensive and even a sticker-shocking proposition. Spanish horses are expensive due in part to their rarity and to their uniqueness and purity.

My passion for the Andalusian breed was first sparked as a teenager when taking lessons from Carolyn West who rode Admirado, a wonderful white Andalusian working at the Grand Prix level of Dressage.

One of the firsts to be brought from Spain and registered in the newly formed American registry, Admarado's registration number in the United States was 101. Admirado was the first and only Andalusian to qualify to represent the United States at the Pan American Games.

Admirado

Under Carolyn's and Franz Rochovanski's, (a retired head master from the Spanish School of Riding in Austria) tutelage, I excelled to Fourth Level and was schooling Fifth. We did one-tempies, canter half passes, and my horse would piaffe to his hearts content whenever asked. The day I sold my 12-year-old thoroughbred, Caroline got on him and performed a canter pirouette.

About ten years went by, during which time I finished my college education, got a good job and then, and then one day woke up and discovered that I was still more or less - horseless. After looking at a few horses for sale, I came across an Andalusian mare, and rediscovered what I had dreamed of all my life. Caroline and Admarido had planted the seeds all those years ago. I now knew I wanted to pursue dressage and felt it necessary to acquire a horse that could stand up to the mental and physical rigors of the art. I knew an Andalusian colt would fit the bill since they were after-all breed for centuries to do just that.

Then in 1996 after a long six-month search for a young Andalusian colt, I fell in love with a big strapping two-month-old Andalusian. The fondness I felt towards this colt combined with not having enough cash on hand to purchase him inaugurated my quest for financial assistance. If one is not a horsey person, you may feel that such an undertaking is utter madness, and indeed it is. But many people finance things they can't afford, like cars, boats, and houses - so why should a horse be any different?

The following article is an account of my adventure in financing my first Andalusian. While the colt, Smokey, would have fit on my credit cards, I felt this would not have been the wisest thing to do, due to their high interest rates. So, I figured that a loan policy on an Andalusian could be set up much the same way as a loan policy on a car would be if I could find a willing financial institution. In such a loan, the buyer's past credit history determine the terms and interest rate of the loan. The registration, or right of ownership, is then defined as the buyer and the financier. The property would become collateral so if the buyer defaults on his or her payments, the lender would take possession thus lessening the lenders risk. The buyer insures the collateral against damage enabling the lender a return on their investment should something go wrong.

With this in mind, I contacted my credit union on June 18. My first goal would be to begin building a line of communication and form a team with the credit union. The objective of this team would be to conceive a lending policy where one did not previously exist before. My main contribution to the team was my willingness to cooperate and listen to credit unions point of view. Willingness and cooperation were my foundation for building successful communications, along with patience and persistence. The credit union was built on a basis of people helping people so they were receptive to my rather persistent inquires.

Smokey at seven months

Before long, I gained an introduction to the President and CEO of the credit union who became passionate towards my cause. (As you can see from the picture taken when Smokey was 7-months old, she was very passionate!) I credit my ultimate success to this person, a tall, kind person, willing to listen to my thoughts and perspectives while sharing hers as well. By July 11, I forwarded the application for the equine insurance to the Credit Union with them named as the primary beneficiary until such time as the loan was paid off. I also sent along a copy of the colt's lineage, and copy of the 1996 Rules and Regulations for Registration and Transfer from the International Andalusian & Lusitano Horse Association, an article on the 1996 Olympic Spanish Dressage team from the Andalusian, and an article on the Iberian Horse from the Andalusian regarding its origins in Spain. I was hopeful to provide enough information for insight into the Andalusian horses while maintaining interest.

This information was well received and was to be brought before the Board of Directors for evaluation. On July 14, the seed of my passion had been successfully planted with the Board, and the Credit Union informed me that such a loan policy could be written if the value of the collateral could be verified. They wanted to know, 'was the colt worth the asking price so that in the event of default, the Credit Union would be able to recover its outlay?' Researching this, I found several local Andalusian ranches and trainers of Andalusians who could provide insights as to the cost of such a colt. I also found several pages of ads from the Marketplace, the classified portion of the Andalusian publication, which might prove useful in providing some insight as to the value of the colt and sent this information on to the Credit Union. I must say that my task was daunting. At the time of my inquest, little or no information existed on the Internet, nor in most of the local publications on horses.

Advertisements in local publications were few and far between, and the society of people owing these great horses was initially elusive. Having been given a copy of the Andalusian publication (which was and still is only available to its members) became my personal gold mine as well as my introduction and subsequent friendship with its members. As time went by, I felt it was important to continue to keep the seller appraised of the events as they occurred and made a down payment in good faith. It is important to remember down payments made "in good faith" are not refundable as they are designed to help the seller regain some of their losses should the buyer later back out of the deal. This ensures that the seller knew I remained serious about buying the horse (although I think she knew that anyway). I had spent many hours on the phone with her, and friendship between the two of us was growing.

My colt at four months

The seller would send me regular photos keeping me longing for my growing colt pictured here at 4-months old. So on July 11, I contacted the seller and apprised her of the progress of obtaining a collateral loan at a low interest rate. I advised her that I would need a purchase agreement to send in with my pending loan application based on my down payment.

In response, I entered into a Purchase Agreement on July 29 with the seller. Registration with IALAH was in progress and the colt was eligible for inclusion in the Spanish StudBook. While this remains a controversial issue, inclusion in the Spanish StudBook added to the value and salability of the colt, enhancing the basis for my request to use the colt as collateral. So I felt "Why not?" and advised the seller to proceed with the inscription process.

With this in mind, I then forwarded the purchase agreement on to the Credit Union on July 30. I also sent along two videotapes, which I thought the Credit Union might enjoy watching of quite a few Andalusian mares, foals, and one stallion. Included on the video were a clip on the colt's dam and the colt's full brother. This led to the next step in formulation of the new loan.

On August 19, I forwarded to the Credit Union the completed equine insurance application for full mortality, equine major medical, and theft. This was the most complete form of coverage insuring the animal against death due to accident, injury, illness, or disease. This included humane destruction to relieve incurable and excessive suffering if caused by a covered peril. A licensed Veterinarian prior to ownership change would of course complete the backside of the application.

I also forwarded to the Credit Union the completed equine insurance application for liability. This was to be in addition to the insurance that a stable cares (in this case, the insurance carried by the stable that would be the colt's new home to protect the stable in the event of an accident). It is designed to provide complete liability protection for people who own pleasure, show, or race horses but are not personally involved in the commercial business of training, racing, or breeding. This type of insurance is called the Pleasure or RaceHorse Owners Liability and would be the one desired by the Credit Union. I also sent a sample (on another horse) of a registration certificate from the International Andalusian Horse Association Registry indicating the specifics about the horse including the recorded owner (which would be Luanne Fairbanks and the Credit Union) and the Transfer Report authorizing the transfer of the ownership. The colt's registration was still pending at this point as this process takes up to 18 weeks since blood typing is done by UC Davis on the colt, the colt's dam and the colt's father to confirm his lineage.

And at long last, my patient and persistent inquires and research were rewarded as acceptance by the Board of Directors from the Credit Union was granted for such a loan on September 3. With the financial worries over the purchase price of the colt handled, the remaining items involved having the horse Vetted, securing the insurance, transfer of the colt into my name and the Credit Unions, and transporting the colt across the three states that separated us. After heaping great blessings upon the Credit Union for their magnificent efforts put fourth to enable me to do all this the transfer was made.

continues........