For Glenn--Wife of Rolling Stone Charlie Watts locked in legal row after 'snatching back' £4,000 horse

Halsdon Arabians

The wife of Rolling Stone Charlie Watts is locked in a bitter legal row after staff at her world-renowned stud farm allegedly took a horse from a rival breeder.

Shirley Watts is said to have sent a horsebox 200 miles to snatch back a £4,000 thoroughbred Arabian mare, claiming new owners Liz and Bob Turner had not paid for it.

Two years later, the Turners have still not seen the horse again and now they have instructed lawyers to begin a county court action to recover the money they claim they have paid.

The dispute will send shockwaves through the Arabian show-ring world, traditionally the preserve of the publicity-shy super rich.

Mrs Watts regularly entertains buyers at her 600-acre Halsdon Arabians stud near Dolton, Devon, and every August breeders from Europe, the Middle East and the US converge on it to assess its foals.

In recent years, she has owned up to 200 horses, including dozens of internationally acclaimed show winners such as Simeon Sadik, twice a World Reserve Champion, and the Polish mare Emilda, bought in 1998 for £140,000 and later a British National Champion.

She founded the farm with her husband 20 years ago and the business, which specialises in horses of Polish origin, is now worth more than £10million.

At one stage, the Turners were valued customers of Mrs Watts. They bought the former British champion Ali Khamsin from her before the dispute began.

In 2004, they bought the brood mare, hoping she might produce a future champion.

But in 2006, the Wattses' lorry is understood to have arrived at the couple's former farm near Newmarket, Suffolk, and then taken the horse away.

Charlie, 67, who has amassed a £65million fortune as the drummer with the Stones, told The Mail on Sunday: 'Somebody bought a horse off us, did not pay the money for it and my wife has taken it back. That's it. It's one of those things.

'It's like in most businesses - if you buy a car and don't pay for it, it gets taken back.'

He added: 'I've got no idea about the details. Shirley says it's in the lawyers' hands. It's nothing to do with me, the work of the stud. We own it together but that side of it I don't deal with.

'Most people pay for a thing and then they take it. Legally, that's how they're allowed to have it. But I can't comment on the details of this.'

Later Mrs Watts told us: 'There's nothing I can say. It's all in the hands of the lawyers.'

The Turners, whose new stables near Swindon, Wiltshire, are now guarded by rottweilers and CCTV cameras, also refused to discuss details of their legal action.

Mr Turner said: 'It's all going through the courts. I don't want this blown out of the water because at the moment I'm on a winning streak.'

He added: 'They're very powerful people. They've got millions behind them.'

Mrs Turner, who has kept horses for 40 years, said she had tried to 'sort things out' with Mrs Watts but 'she completely ignored me - that's why it's gone on'.

She added: 'I've got everything. I've got the horse's papers. I do not owe anyone anything. I paid for the horse, they delivered it, I've got the contract.

'I don't know what happened to the money after I paid for it. But I tell you 100 per cent that the horse was paid for.'

Mrs Turner's solicitor, Richard Brooks, said: 'If this isn't sorted out, the only option will be to litigate. There is no sign of it being resolved amicably.'

The Arab Horse Society (AHS), which handles all registrations for the breed, said it could not discuss members' private business.

However, a source said: 'Ownership disputes are not uncommon. A horse passport is not enough. You need the registration certificate and, most importantly, the transfer of ownership papers.

The AHS knows all about this dispute but cannot take sides. Shirley Watts is an eminent member and Liz Turner a well respected exhibitor. Ultimately, a court judgment will decide this.'

Suffolk Police said that officers were not investigating the incident. 'Something like this is a civil matter,' said a spokeswoman.

The Wattses' farm has not always run smoothly. In 2000, the farm manager Paul Atkinson and his wife Joan, the farm book-keeper, were both jailed for theft after siphoning off more than £24,000 from the business.