It's showdown for a horse breeder accused of selling horses with fake pedigrees for thousands of dollars.
Frustrated buyers say they spent years asking Paul Ffoulkes, of Goldengrove Stud Farm, for proof of their horses' lineage. But the proof never came.
Now Ffoulkes has paid back some of the money, but still the lineage of the horses remains a mystery.
Helen McNaught is one of the buyers who wasn't willing to roll over.
She and her husband Duncan had bought and sold horses for years both in New Zealand and the US but had never had any problems before dealing with Ffoulkes.
"It's been an absolute nightmare," McNaught said, adding that without proof of pedigree "the value goes through the floor, they're worth nothing".
McNaught bought two horses from Goldengrove Stud, a foal called Rummy and a mare (mother) called Brandy.
They were told the mare was bred using frozen semen from the world champion stallion, Casall Ask. They were given verification papers which listed the horses' names. But there was no DNA proof. The papers also incorrectly said the horse was registered with the highly respected Holsteiner Association in Germany.
The couple wanted to breed from Brandy. So at this point, they requested proof of the family tree to pass on to buyers of her offspring.
Specifically, they asked Ffoulkes for DNA proof of the link to Casall Ask. He refused. This was unusual as a horse of that breeding would naturally have DNA papers passed on with any sale of offspring.
McNaught and her husband became suspicious and had Brandy DNA tested by five different vets. In every case there was no DNA link to Casall Ask, and they could find no link to any stallion of any note in New Zealand.
They were furious, having spent thousands of dollars on the horse. However, Ffoulkes wouldn't take any responsibility. So McNaught went to the Disputes Tribunal.
She also came to Fair Go because she was aware that others had won cases against Ffoulkes in the past but had either not been paid at all, or only paid once the bailiffs had become involved. She also wanted to warn others about their situation.
Fair Go was also contacted by another horse owner Aleisha Deans.
She said she purchased a foal from Goldengrove Stud for $23,000 based on the fact the mare of the foal was a top show jumper.
Deans wanted to sell the foal because at full adult height it was too small for her, but she claims, "I can't sell that horse without some proof he's not from the SPCA, pretty much he's little and brown".
She said it took her years to get Ffoulkes to release a DNA sample from the mare.
At around this time, Deans said Ffoulkes accused her of swapping the horse for a cheaper one. She was able to prove this was not the case.
When Fair Go contacted Ffoulkes, he refused to comment except to say he had all the proof he needed to prove he was right. He also took the opportunity to insult both women saying they were "bad news" and had accused others "all over the country".
McNaught's case finally got heard at the Disputes Tribunal after two years of delays and Ffoulkes agreed to pay her $20,000 and to take Rummy back.
McNaught had also asked for the DNA proof she wanted but still nothing. So she remains in the dark about Brandy's sire (father).
However, she was elated to be promptly paid by Ffoulkes.
"Nobody's more surprised than we are. I truly believe it's because you guys are involved with our case, I truly believe that."
McNaught was convinced of this because she's aware of another Disputes Tribunal case where Ffoulkes owes money, but has yet to make full payment two years on.
As for Deans, even after Ffoulkes supplied the mare's DNA there was confusion due to several different spellings of the mare's name, each with a different DNA profile, on Massey University's DNA database.
Deans said it was too difficult to ascertain the mare of her foal, so she was none the wiser. And now it's too late. Sadly her horse prematurely died of an inherited disease. So it's lineage will always be a mystery.
The real triumph for both Deans and McNaught though is that Ffoulkes behaviour has been exposed.
Jody Hartstone, who runs the New Zealand Warmblood Association, also sees this as an important step forward.
She is campaigning for horse passports to be introduced, a system commonly used in Europe.
The passport would have a record of the horses' DNA test and microchip information. DNA tests only cost about $80.
She said having this irrefutable evidence would make for fairer age-grade competitions and for sales that could always be trusted.
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