$25m horse trade gone wrong – Kristen Andersen takes the Dutch to court – E24

It’s been a full-on fantasy drama for billionaire Kristen Andersen since this summer. The Andresen family, which owns the investment company Ferd, is also engaged in horse breeding, as well as buying and selling horses.

Kristen Andersen and her daughter, Alexandra, deal primarily with horses, through a subsidiary in Ferd Group.

In 2015 Andresen bought the top stallion Hesselhøj Donkey Boy (10). Later, he distinguished himself as the best breeding and riding stallion. The stallion was a WC Silver and Gold medalist for young horses in 2017 and 2019 – then he’s also worth a good amount of money.

This summer, Andersen sold the horse to Dutch jockeying and horse company Bartels Academy for €2.5m – about NOK 25m. The trade was done via Danish horse dealer and Olympic jockey Andreas Helgestrand, who also had the horse in his stable in Denmark.

But six days after signing the contract, the horse itself was injured. A torn tendon in his left hind leg means Donkey Boy can never be used as a sport horse again. Then the Dutch buyers refused to pay. Swedish horse magazine Ridsport Mention it first.

– Bartels tries to say the injury happened over time, through very hard training, Kristen Andersen tells E24.

It’s still not clear if the horse could be used further in breeding, Andersen says. Semen from the top horse costs around NOK 22,000, and breeding Donkey Boy makes two million a year, says the former owner.

– There is no horse to give birth

Andersen now takes the Dutch to Danish arbitration. You feel confident of winning the case.

– The contract is ready, they bought the horse when they signed. The question is whether they will pay. They can go bankrupt, there are many ways out. I’ll collect this money, Andersen says.

She believes the problem arose because of the Dutch’s agreement to sell back to the Japanese state-owned Japan Riding Association. This company buys the best horses for the Japanese national team with the aim of participating in the Olympics in Paris. Donkey Boy was to be purchased for dressage rider Kazuki Sado, who is making his Olympic Games debut in 2020.

– In this contract, they wrote that the money should be paid when the horse was delivered – but they don’t have a horse to deliver, says Andersen.

The advantage of having financial resources is that I can face their lawyers. Ordinary people don’t stand a chance in the sea, because it costs too much. I have taken some of these cases against the worst in the industry. I could afford to lose that money, but that would be a matter of principle.

E24 has been in contact with the Bartels Academy and their attorneys. None of them wish to comment on the matter.