Victims of fraudster who sold drugged and dangerous horses ‘devastated’ as she walks free
Man who was sold unsuitable horse for his daughter tells of his shock as dodgy equine dealer escapes jail
Joseph Hughes says Bamber sold him a horse for his then 14-year-old daughter which was “completely unsuitable” for a child and could have “killed her”.In 2018, police in the Limavady area started to receive complaints naming Bamber from Glenedra Sports Horses based in Feeny, Co Derry, as having committed numerous alleged fraud offences.“Over the following weeks and months numerous complaints were made against the defendant,” said Judge Fiona Bagnall this week.She eventually admitted a series of fraudulent horse deals, duping victims from “all over the British Isles”.Speaking exclusively to the Sunday World after 42-year-old Bamber was told she would not serve a single day in jail, Mr Hughes says he was sold this horse – seen here with his daughter Lauren on top – and Bamber told him it was “bomb-proof” – meaning it was calm and couldn’t be spooked.But in truth it was a former thoroughbred racehorse which had been drugged when it was first shown to Mr Hughes and after it put a man in hospital, the family had to give the horse away for £50.“Myself and many others are completely devastated that after all this time there’s no punitive action and nothing to stop Emma Bamber to start up and do what she did before,” said the father-of-one from Antrim.Joseph Hughes reported Emma Bamber to the PSNI but he says he was left ‘devastated’ after the fraudster walked free from court earlier this week“I was the first person to report Emma Bamber to the PSNI back in 2018 after she sold a horse under false pretences to me which could have resulted in my daughter being seriously injured or even killed.“I told Emma Bamber I wanted to buy my 14-year-old daughter her first horse. She showed me this horse which appeared to be in good fettle and she said it was an Irish Sport Horse and was capable of a mixture of events. It was called ‘Bess’ but my daughter called it ‘Miami’.“My daughter took it out for a spin and it seemed very calm and it was tested on the road with traffic and was absolutely fine – it was described to us a bomb-proof.”But after initial concerns were raised when Bamber failed to deliver the horse as agreed and paid for, Mr Hughes went back to Glenedra Sports Horses to get the horse himself.“I pastured it with other horses in a neighbour’s field but after two days the neighbour called me to say you have to take that horse out of the field because it’s nuts.“My daughter had been riding it for a few weeks and when we had taken it to a dry hunt, it put a man in hospital just because he walked too close to it.“As a duty of care we got it vetted and checked and were told this was not an Irish Sport Horse but in fact it was a pure-bred throughbred and when we got it scanned we discovered it was a former racehorse.“It had a hot temper and was completely unsuitable for an adolescent child to ride. It was such an irresponsible thing for Emma Bamber to do because not only had she cost me a substantial amount of money, the horse could have killed my daughter.”Joseph says as well as reporting the fraud to the PSNI he also gave them the fake passport Bamber had given him for the horse.“I tried going back to Bamber but she stonewalled me and didn’t respond to messages but I told her it was obscene that someone would not just misrepresent a horse but also provide it to a child.“That’s why when the judge said she would suspend the sentence because the case had gone on so long we were devastated.“This was a very complicated case which I have to say the PSNI did a very good job but it was a learning curve for them because I don’t think they are used to dealing with equine-related crime but they did their best and worked really hard in an investigation that covered several jurisdictions.“They presented their case to the PPS and Bamber played smoke and mirrors which helped delay the case. She was pregnant and had a baby, she was unwell she played every card under the sun so it wasn’t our fault of the PPS that the case was delayed so long.“She claimed she was only following orders but that’s complete nonsense. For the judge to say she’s had it hanging over her head was a knife in the heart because what does the judge think we’ve been going through?“We had to give the horse away for £50 because it was unmanageable. My daughter was devastated. You know when you see your child smile and it’s so genuine and to have that smile taken away broke my heart. It had a great impact on all of the victims.”On Thursday Bamber, of Bridge Street, Garstang in Preston, was handed an 18-month prison sentence at Antrim Crown Court but Judge Bagnall said that because the case had been “hanging over the head” of Bamber for six years, that delay justified suspending the prison sentence for two years.Joseph Hughes’s daughter sitting on the horse she renamed ‘MiamiIt was last September the Bamber entered guilty pleas to seven charges of fraud by false representation and one of engaging in misleading commercial practice. The offences were committed between January 10 and December 6, 2018.Following Bamber’s confessions on 10 other charges, including one more of fraud, two of forgery and seven of failing to provide a horse passport at the time of transfer, are to be marked as “left on the books”.The court heard Bamber told a victim that a horse was “suitable for her grandchildren” when in fact it was an ex-racehorse, claimed a horse she sold was an Irish Sports Horse when it was not, claimed an animal called Bridie had “a full set of X-rays and five stage vetting” when it did not.She further claimed that Bridie was “an ‘extremely talented showjumping horse and sound in all ways’, when in fact it was not; and took deposits for horses she did not have and did not transport.Judge Bagnall said it was clear that despite her claims that she was repeating information her bosses had told her, Bamber had not only “held herself out as knowing about horses, but also told lies after lies to clients in order to sell what were completely inappropriate horses to susceptible purchasers”.
