Define criteria

The process begins approximately one month prior to your trip to Europe. Also, because we import horses for sale and have many U.S. contacts, it is possible that one will be available in the U.S. You will work with Kathy or Toine to provide information, identifying every single criterion you are seeking in your ideal next horse, to make certain they understand your personality, goals, and specific needs in detail. All of your information is strictly confidential.

Riders with their own trainers may elect to work with Toine alone if desired.

Upon completion of your information sheet, Toine and Kathy will select a group of 12-15 'long-list' candidates. This pre-selection extends to all breeds, all countries in Europe, including Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Denmark, and takes into account Toine's knowledge of European warmblood breeding. If you prefer to focus on one or two countries then you can so specify.

View selected horses and identify 'short-list'

Next, you will travel to Europe to view the pre-selected candidate horses. All travel and hotel arrangements are made for you – you will be picked up at Holland's Schiphol Airport, and taken to each facility at which each horse is located, in any country in Europe. There is no need to rent a car.

Throughout your trip, you will be personally accompanied by Toine. If you desire, Kathy can also accompany you, as she makes several trips to Europe each year. Naturally, you can bring your own friend or trainer. Our goal is to make the trip itself easy and fun, in order to enable you to relax and focus on the horses. In the event that none of the candidate horses are exactly what you wanted, you will never be pressured to make a purchase. We want you to have the opportunity to select the best horse for your needs.

Vet and import your new horse

Once you have selected the horse or horses that you desire, we will help you make independent arrangements with highly-qualified local veterinarians, with excellent x-ray equipment, for pre-purchase examinations. Or, you may prefer to bring your own veterinarian.

We highly recommend that your own vet offers a second opinion on the x-rays and vet report. We encourage you to have your vet speak with the European vet, and will provide you with all the necessary information to make this process easy.

Upon completion of the veterinary exam(s), we will assist you with all arrangements to bring your new horse to your country, and through quarantine.

You will find that all of the steps proceed smoothly. There is nothing to fear or be nervous about.

Review of Protocol

If you would like Toine to organize a list of prospects for you, you will need to plan about 3 weeks in advance. You will need to let him know exactly what you are looking for, what your price range is, when you plan to travel and how many days you will be there. Usually 3-4 days is sufficient as he pre-selects the best horses for you.

Request our "Horse Search Form". We have a very specific Horse Search Form for you to fill out. You may send that to Kathy or Toine.

You will need to fly to Amsterdam, where Toine will pick you up. You typically arrive in Amsterdam in the early morning – from 7:30 to 9:00am – and from there Toine will take you to try out some horses. Once you finish the scheduled horses that day, you will be driven to a comfortable hotel near Toine’s farm. Toine will make the reservation but the hotel is your expense, approximately $80USD.

When you are scheduled to return home, Toine will take you to the airport. Most flights leave for the U.S. between 11am and 2pm.

Toine, at your request, will make a vet appointment. The vet has state of the art digital x-ray equipment. All records, prepurchase report, x-rays, etc. will be sent to your vet for a second opinion. The vetting will cost about $1200USD including a drug screening and radiographs. It may be more if your vet requires more radiographs or tests. Of course, you may bring your own vet and may attend the vetting yourself. It is best to bring with you to Europe a list from your vet of what he requires. Also you should fax to the vet in Europe a copy of the required insurance form, vet report form.

No funds are transferred for the horse until your vet is satisfied with the vetting results. Ingrid Hoefs will then explain to you how to wire the funds. It is all very easy.

The air transportation for the horse from Amsterdam to New York will run about $5000USD and that includes local pick-up in Holland, handling at the Amsterdam airport, air fare, JFK to quarantine station in Newburgh, NY and the expenses at the quarantine station. You will need to arrange to pick up your horse at the quarantine station, i.e., Newburgh, Miami, LA. The cost is more than $5000 if you import a stallion or mare. The mare has to stay in quarantine about 2 weeks and the stallion has to stay about 6 weeks and breed 3 times. It is not really worth importing a stallion unless he is approved.

You may bring your own trainer/friend etc., or you may arrange to have Kathy accompany you by contacting her.