A fuming Upper East Side mom slapped a Westchester horse farm with a $2 million lawsuit yesterday for knowingly selling her distraught daughter a defective show pony, according to court papers.
Barbara Tichner-Dildabanian, 48, bought the 6-year-old gelding, named Sports Talk, for $175,000 last year for her her 12-year-old equestrienne daughter, Francesca.
The boutique owner and summer Hamptons resident said the pony’s health deteriorated after the purchase. Records show Sports Talk won several events earlier this year.
Tincher-Dildabanian says her horse broker — Heritage Farm of Westchester — failed to disclose a veterinary check that showed damage in Sports Talk’s hooves before the sale.
“I feel that it was the responsibility of the trainer and the agent,” she said. “They came to me with this pony.”
Tincher-Dildabanian also sued veterinarian Christopher Miller for not alerting her to the alleged problem before she ponied up.
A lawyer for Heritage Farm said Tincher-Dildabanian should sue the previous owner of the horse, not the broker and vet.
“These are very expensive hobbies to maintain,” said the attorney, Peter Axelrod. “You’re buying an animal. There are really no guarantees. Not every horse is going to be Secretariat.”
Sports Talk’s previous owner, Bibby Farmer-Hill of Florida, called the coverup claims “crazy.”
“This sounds absolutely ridiculous to me,” she told The Post. “I never had a single problem with that horse in any way.”
Farmer-Hill also defended Miller and his veterinary practice. “He has a great reputation in this business,” she said.
Another previous owner said Sports Talk had been vetted several times over the years and never showed any physical defects.
“This is a pony mom who doesn’t know anything about the business or animals,” zinged Redfield Farms owner Emil Spadone, who added that the industry is stocked with affluent parents who pine for equestrian glory for their kids. “There was never anything wrong with this horse.”
But Tincher-Dildabanian said she was clearly victimized by a sale-hungry group and that the pony world is infested with shady characters. “There is incredible fraud in this business,” she insisted.
Francesca Dildabanian has won several riding events in her age group including wins at the famed Hamptons Classic in Bridgehampton.
She has four other ponies in addition to Sports Talk valued at more than $500,000, her mother said.