Complaint Review: Sherry Bailey - Knoxville, Bristol Tennessee, Virginia

I saw the ripoff report on Sherry Bailey in Bristle too late! The exact same thing happened to me and was described in previous reports (almost word for word). Same pressure to buy, same pitch, another victim of Sherry.  Hope I'll be the last. 

To her credit, the ponies I bought were well cared for and in good health. Sound feet and passed the vet check and have a neg. coggins.

Sherry on the other hand is simply a con and a fast talker: bottom line, her ponies are not as she presents them. Not for a beginner and not what she sells them to be. Each time I talked with Sherry about a pony there was always someone who was "wiring money" for them that day and I needed to "wire her money before they did". She was desperate to get her money immediately!  Never wire money to her.

The ponies I was told were well suited tor a beginner and kid safe trail or show. (I have a 6 yr old in lessons at a well know local farm and is a very good walk trot rider who's shown and won on her trainer's ponies. She had difficult time with the ponies I bought from Sherry. NO WAY they're kid safe! They have no manners and could not possibly have been considered show pony potetial. While they will lead with a rider....they are ill mannered with an independant rider and have tons of vices.

I've also had more advanced riders 8,9,10,11 and 12 year olds who found these ponies difficult to manage. Basically they are project ponies that need a lot of work and are way over priced for what they are. They were advertised as "loads and trailers well", but it took us over an hour to load one. 

As I began to negotiate for the pony I was possibly interested in, there was always someone else interested....but for X amount more she had an "even better pony" for me. BUYER BE WARE!!!! Hang up the phone. 

She's a fast talker and a shifty "switcher" when you start to talk money. Her ponies are not anywhere near the value that she's asking nor is the pony she's describing what they actually are. 

The phone number for her that's listed in Ripoff is not the one I have:   FYI 276 696-1260 is the one I have.

She's still advertising "dream ponies...absolute angels".

Prevoiusly being unaware of the existence of any of these reports, I also had a similar experience with this person.  Sherry sold me a horse recently that I was led to believe was beginner friendly, that she had owned for 2-3 years, used in her lesson program for kids to ride and had passed an extensive bomb-proofing program before being allowed to enter the program, had lots of trail experience, and loaded and trailered well.

I also was told that if I did not purchase the horse that day, there was another buyer lined up to wire her money to buy it.  From the get go, the horse was not as she described.  I understand that horses need to adjust to new environments and can be nervous in new situations and with new people, but even while I was picking the horse up at her place, he was difficult to catch, nervous, and difficult to trailer load.  

He did not improve when I took him home.  I spoke to Sherry a few days after I bought the horse to ask her more questions about him.  She suddenly could not remember where she had gotten him from, how long she had had him for, when the last time she had him on a trail ride or a trailer was, and said that she hadn't done lessons at her place yet, but that she was planning to.  

Turns out, she had never used the horse for lessons.  The information contradicted what she told me before I bought the horse.  I was uncomfortable with how the horse was acting and was also very uncomfortable with her lack of forthright information about the horse.  I knew I was in a potentially very unsafe situation and to protect myself from possible injury from the horse, I had to re-home the horse to a more skilled situation at a large monetary loss.  

Since that time, Sherry continues to sell horses online and at auctions.  There is one post that says the farm has plans to open to the public for lessons and camps for kids.  Other posts say that they are only selling the farm's horses because they are simply downsizing and don't have time for all of the horses they own.  Yet other ads say that she is only selling because they are getting out of teaching lessons (which contradicts other posted information) and starting a breeding and boarding business.  

Trying to find the right horse is a definitely a buyer beware process.  While I accept that and understand I have no legal recourse in my situation, I would heavily caution anyone who is considering buying a horse from Sherry.  Ask very specific questions about the horse that you are considering.  If she gives you a very long-winded, round about answer that never specifically answers the question that you ask, ask again and again until you get a straight answer.   It goes without saying that horses can be very dangerous, especially when you don't have truthful information about a horse's experience and background.  For your own safety and the safety of your family, please be very, very, cautious.  I don't want to see what happenned to me and apparently lots of other people, happen to anyone else.     

I see I am not the only one, there needs to be some kind of law against someone like Sherrry she sold me a horse that was supposed to be kids safe beginner safe this horse has already done some things to me that If it were one of my children I would be seriously injured....

I am so sickened today in particular the horse I got off her kicked me in the back and if it were 1 foot higher she would have kicked me in the back of the skull.... I cried thinking what could have been what if I left my kids without a mother....Seriously!

Thinking of what she is doing makes my teeth cringe.....I took money I didnt really have paid way more than what the horse is worth and now I am looking at selling the horse to a guy in ohio for 2500 dollars less than what I paid for her to keep her out of auction or slaughter he has promised to do his best and rehabilitating and training her..... and later I will go have x ray to see what has happened inside my back......

God have mercy on you Sherry Bailey hope you get shut down and all other horse traders just trying to make a dime on innocent people....