A California man is galloping to court after a Dutch horse dealer allegedly saddled him with a $500,000 lemon.
Gary Kamins sent his now 25-year-old daughter Gabby, who did competitive horse riding as a child, and her trainer Charmaine Levinson to Europe in August 2021, to pick out a horse for her to ride in competitions, he said in a lawsuit.
The pair settled on a $475,000 male horse named Grodino from Alan Waldman, whose Netherlands-based Waldman Horses allowed only a brief medical exam and provided no veterinary records, Kamins claimed in court papers.
But by the time the horse, whose barn name was “Dino,” was transported to the port of Los Angeles and on his way to Levinson’s Pacific Palisades stable, Kamins alleged it was clear something wasn’t right.
“Once Dino arrive at Cha Cha’s horse and training facility…[the horse] showed signs of physical pain and distress,” Kamins alleged in the California Federal Court papers.
Dino refused to do any jumps or training, and vets eventually realized he had a painful bone spur in its spine and a “progressive negative spinal condition.”
“Notwithstanding intensive veterinary care by Kamins for Dino, Dino never recovered and never competed in competition,” he claimed in the lawsuit, which alleged Waldman refused to refund the purchase price.
The doting dad was also out four years of funds he paid to Levinson to train and try to rehabilitate Dino, he said in the lawsuit, without detailing the amount.
He claims Waldman also paid Levinson an unknown commission.
Neither Waldman nor Levinson could immediately be reached for comment.