A businesswoman who labelled a top equestrian ‘vile’ in a Facebook row over a dead horse is facing bankruptcy after being sued for libel.
Andrea Oldham posted comments dubbing professional dressage rider, trainer and stables owner Beth Wood ‘vile’ and ‘a disgrace to loving horse owners’.
The post by Ms Oldham, who runs a pet hotel and dogwalking business, came after a pony named Lily was spotted lying dead in one of her fields in December 2020.
Ms Oldham of Congleton, Cheshire, went on to repost a description of the scene written by another user on Ms Wood’s business Facebook page, along with a series of comments, which the horsewoman says amounted to a ‘hate campaign’.
Ms Wood admits the horse died in her field but denies it wasn’t properly looked after and is now suing at London’s High Court, demanding £15,000 in libel damages and an injunction forcing Ms Oldham to take down the posts and not make similar claims.
Andrea Oldham (pictured), of Congleton, Cheshire, runs a pet hotel and dogwalking business
Ms Oldham is defending the claim, arguing that her posts were true or an expression of her honest opinion, but has told a judge that the cost of being dragged to court has already brought her to ‘the cusp of bankruptcy’.
In documents lodged with the court, lawyers for Ms Wood, of Scholar Green, Cheshire, say she ‘has an exemplary professional background in the equine industry, dating back to childhood.
‘She competes professionally in shows and dressage, having shown many horses and ponies at international level competition and advanced level dressage.
‘The claimant regularly wins at local competitions and has been highly placed in numerous regional dressage competitions and national events.’
Setting out the circumstances surrounding the horse’s death, the documents state that Ms Wood looks after horses for some of her clients.
‘On or around Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 6am, the claimant started her usual morning routine to tend to the horses in her care, namely feeding, turning out, mucking out and putting hay in the field,’ they say.
Andrea Oldham branded Beth Wood (pictured) ‘vile’ and ‘a disgrace to loving horse owners’
‘This is a standard routine for all professionals with horses and ponies in their care. The claimant then trained some horses at the premises before leaving to coach her clients in the afternoon.
‘The claimant returned to the premises at approximately 5.45pm, to find one of the ponies laying in the mud and had sadly lost its life.
‘The claimant quickly contacted a fallen stock business, SJ & JM Weston, to remove the pony and save it from being attacked further by the birds and the elements and also to save any further distress from other horses and ponies being held in her care.
‘Lastly, she contacted the owners of the pony and informed them of the terrible news.
‘SJ & JM Weston had identified the likely cause of death to be natural and there were no signs of a cruel standard of living and proposed that the death had only occurred within the previous six hours.
‘On December 14, 2020 until a date unknown but around December 20, 2020, the defendant used the Facebook account to publish false and malicious defamatory statements about the claimant’.
Beth Wood (pictured) admits the horse died in her field but denies it wasn’t properly looked
Ms Wood’s lawyers say that Ms Oldham left a series of Facebook messages, making statements to her clients including: ‘Be absolutely sure that you want this vile person training your horse. If she leaves her own to die and decompose then imagine what she is doing to yours.’
In another, she wrote: ‘She is an absolute disgrace to loving horse owners and animal lovers.’
The horsewoman’s lawyers claim the posts pointed a false picture of Ms Wood as ‘a vicious and cruel woman who… is unprofessional and unfit to look after animals’ and claim Ms Oldham intended to start ‘a hate campaign’ against her.
Ms Oldham’s lawyers in her defence to the action say that she is relying on the defence of ‘truth’ in relation to the initial post and standing by her claim that Ms Wood ‘neglected two horses in her care’.
She is relying on a defence of ‘honest opinion’ in relation to the other posts, her lawyers say.
Andrea Oldham’s lawyers say she is relying on the defence of ‘truth’ relating to the initial post
During a brief pre-trial hearing last month before a judge, Master Mark Gidden, Ms Oldham appeared without lawyers, representing herself and describing the devastating financial toll of the case.
‘I have no more money to pay,’ she told the judge. ‘The more money gets spent on this, the closer I am to bankruptcy. Any more than £5 and I’m going to go bankrupt.’
Ms Wood’s barrister told the judge: ‘The claimant is aware of the defendant’s suggestion that she may be on the brink of bankruptcy.’
The pair were subsequently ordered by the judge to try to resolve their differences outside of court in a bid to avoid a financially ruinous court fight.
However if they cannot reach a settlement, the case will return to court for trial at a later date.
