Grand Prix jumper Good Guinness has been reported missing after his California-based trainer, Patrick Seaton, shipped him to New York to try to sell him on the East Coast.

According to Seaton, the horse disappeared at some point between Sept. 8, 2008, when Good Guinness stepped onto a private hauler’s trailer, and Sept. 14, when a dark brown horse purported to be Good Guinness arrived at Frank Madden’s farm in New York.

The horse that showed up at Madden’s farm was only identified as an imposter last week, when Seaton traveled to the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla., and saw the horse that was supposed to be Good Guinness.

The imposter and Good Guinness do bear some similarities: both are dark brown and have small stars. However, the imposter has a scar on his right hind and is missing his front teeth. Over the winter the horse at Madden’s farm competed in shows, but on the children’s circuit, and he was not living up to the potential of a Grand Prix jumper.

When asked why a red flag wasn’t raised when the horse wasn’t living up to expectations, Madden said, “It happens a thousand times that people tell you a horse is better than it is. I watched the horse on YouTube and it was a dark brown horse. The horse that arrived matched the description on the passport, I had no reason to think it wasn’t the horse.”

“You’d never expect something like this to happen,” said trainer Ali Nilforushan, who acted as the agent between Seaton and Madden. “It’s baffling.”

Seaton said the owner of Good Guinness has contacted the FBI. Seaton is asking anyone with information to contact him at 415/797-0186. Good Guinness is a 12-year-old, 17 hand, dark brown Irish Sport Horse. He has a star with roan edges.

According to Madden, a veterinarian yesterday found a European microchip implanted in the imposter horse. No other information is yet available on this horse’s identity.

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