UPDATE: If you haven’t been aware, my blog has been the the most visited place for information on Genevieve de Montremare (or has it so happens Genevieve Sanders). To learn more about the story, please visit this Fresno Bee article. Also, the article mentioned in The Star-Telegram‘s link went dead for reasons unknown.
UPDATE: The article from the Star-Telegram has some grievously incorrect information about Storm Shadow and Genevieve de Montremare. Tammy Hildreth of Friesian Quest has generously pointed out the errors of the article in the comment below. Thank you Tammy for providing this information!
An article in the Texan newspaper The Star-Telegam tells short but uplifting tale of a Friesian-Andalusian cross named Storm Shadow that was destined for slaughter after his owner, Genevieve de Montremare, died of leukemia.
Star Shadow and 11 other stallions from Honor Bright Farms were to be slaughtered in Canada, because it is now illegal to slaughter horses in the United States. Thankfully, Tammy Hildreth of California’s Friesian Quest stepped in and allowed the stallions to be put on her ranch until they were found suitable homes.
Storm Shadow was purchased by Chip Davis and became a champion. According to the article, at the 2009 International Andalusian & Lusitano Horse Association National Championship, Storm Shadow took the titles of “National Champion Dressage, Reserve National Champion Sport Horse Half Andalusian and National Champion Half Andalusian Best Movement — all ages and genders”.
Two things about this article stood out to me: Genevieve de Montremare and horse slaughter.
Genevieve is a very big name in the Friesian world. She owned Bonne 341, an approved stallion that has a special place in my mother’s heart and in the bloodline of many of our Friesians on the ranch. Her death was a tremendous loss to the industry. I might have to write a blog about her, since she was a geneticist from an ancient line of horse breeders, and she was breeding “fox” Friesian, chestnut-colored Friesians.
But the tragedy that her prized stallions were to be sent to slaughter? The article never mentions which stallions, but I can assume that they were Friesian crosses or non-Friesian horses since purebred Friesians would have been easily sold at a better profit.
The article spawned this op-ed story where two readers take very opposing views on horse slaughter. While I can see the merits of allowing horse slaughter when it comes to it being matter of the horse is going to be down anyway that you might as well utilize the carcass in an efficient way…it still unnerves me.
A white paper written by the Veternarians of Equine Welfare gives a compelling case for ending horse slaughter. In this paper, they point out that the bolt gun method of killing, the standard method in the beef industry, is inhumane. They attribute this to the Australian Veterinary Association’s guidelines in the Australian Veterinary Journal in 1987, which states, “The captive bolt pistol is not satisfactory for horses since firm pressure on the forehead is essential for its effective use and this tends to be resisted by the horse.”
In The Star-Telegram op-ed piece, Linda Yarbrough mentions the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act HR503/S727. This bill is still running through Congress. It outlaws “certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption”. In short, it will abolish horse slaughter in the United States for good.
Personally, I support the bill. Aside from waxing poetic on their close connection with paving America and their magnificence, I argue there really isn’t a market for it in the United States. We’ve put so much time and resources into the beef, swine, lamb and poultry industries to make them more efficient, why do we need to add horse meat to the list?
Greetings-
I just arrived home from a week at the IFSHA GN’s show to this link.
It is unfortunate but I have not been able to get the Texas publication to correct its statements…..
As we all know Genevieve was not from PA, but that is what they stated…That is where Storm Shadow was born.
So the article is not accurate at a number of points.
Genevieve placed most of her horses prior to the end – all the Friesians were placed. There were a few left 12-14, a Cremello Lusitano Stallion, a Hispano Arabe, Warlanders, but most were of the genetic project that she was working on til her demise…
The estate that they were housed on was sold rather quickly:
Items for the estate attorneys to consider expense of keeping the horses, employees, etc, until they could be sold. Having the ability to sell the horses, and accomplish all this is a short 30 days? Almost impossible…I think that the attorney’s were thinking in logical rather than the emotions of the situation.
I was given a heads up – I spoke with Regine Brockway JRB Friesians in WA, she agreed to take the Warlander mares, spoke to the new property owners to buy some time, I went to get the stallions (All Buckskin or Palomino Warlanders. papered with the IALHA.) We both worked together to get them marketed and sold. Regine’s much better at technology than I …
Many looked at Storm Shadow as he was the last one to be sold….but no one would advance on him because if he was the last there must be something wrong with him….they were all wrong.
If you are interested I can send the Obit on Genevieve that her husband and I worked on together.
Storm Shadow I believe to be the ambassador proving the value of Genevieve’s work. He is only two years old – and is Undefeated this year in the USEF recognized IALHA circuit and IFSHA circuit’s Grand National competitions besting cross bred’s well into maturity, and ranked 1-6 in the country. What we have been able to accomplish with Storm Shadow is simply unpresedented….
Chip Davis, Storm Shadows new owner as of 10-6-09, is dedicated to carrying on Genevieve’s work and understands that the only way the industry will understand her work is by seeing the product of the work in the show arena.
Storm Shadow has only been able to date to prove his value in hand….we look forward to a brilliant career under saddle in the future.
Tammy Hildreth
Thank you so much, Tammy, for commenting and setting the record straight! I’ll post an update pointing out your comment, since this is obviously pertinent information.
I would love to see the obit, please email it to me at: thecalifornianfriesian@gmail.com
Thanks again!
That was quick, Thank you. Tammy
PLEASE SEND ME A COPY OF GENEVIEVE’S OBITUARY. A SAD STORY, A GREAT LADY.
BILL PARKER
THANK YOU
wtp@sigco.com
She’s not dead. She faked her death.
Genevieve De Montremare is alive and well, hope you guys got the message. She’s faked everything about her past, including her own death, and is currently being sued.
Thank you so much for all this info. I was so shocked to hear of the possible slaughter of any of Genevieve’s horses as I became friends over the phone with her when I purchased a Wicher 334 yearling from her in 2001. She made me promise to return him if I decided to geld him to give her a chance to get him approved. Which I did, 6 months later. She then sent me a Wicher son, half brother to my Dante, named Griffin and an Arab/Friesian cross gelding as a thank you. I cannot fathom she would have allowed her horses, any of them, to be slaughtered.
I’m trying to find out if anyone knows where the Andalusian, Barullo, and the Friesian, Tierdaenof, are? These were my mother’s horses that Genevieve sold.
GET OUT OF THE ANDALUSIAN PICTURE YOU NINNY!
What a remarkable story. Love horse stories with happy endings. Genevieve is smiling down from heaven I’m sure.
Wow, I take back this statement. Genevieve is not dead… she is crazy!!!
“Genevieve De Montremare” is not dead. She and her husband faked her death – and legal action has been taken against them, as a result. I tried to post the link to court records, but apparently, this site will not accept web links. Genevieve’s real name is Genevieve Weilert and her husband’s name is Michael Weilert. She is not – and never was – a doctor. If you will do a search for “Genevieve Weilert,” you should be able to access the court records. The case is Gwartz, et. al., v. Weilert, et. al., and the case is ongoing.
Unfortunately, this woman was apparently cruel enough to concoct a hoax upon people like you who obviously cared for her. From what I have read of the court documents, she apparently faked her death to inflate the sale price of her assets. I am sorry that you all have been horribly wronged in this way.
I’ve actually been well aware of this for months. My mother is very seeped in the going-ons of the Friesian world. The lawyer has even contacted me.
Genevieve’s maiden name was; Genevieve M. De Montremare
She married Michael Weilert.
She became Genevieve Weilert.
They had one daughter.
She had a doctorate in genetics, so I guess you could say – no – she was not a ‘doctor’ as you describe.
She was the woman Tammy has stated.
Actually, Genevieve’s maiden name was Sanders.
Further proof that Genevieve did not die in 2007 is found in the following obituary of her stepmother, who died in 2009. In the obituary, Genevieve is listed as a survivor, living in Clovis, CA.
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20090303&Kategori=rss04&Class=30&Type=CAT30200&Lopenr=903000114&Selected=6
I went to Junior High and High School with Genevieve. She is no more French than I am ….. I think we had French class together in High School if that counts. She was flamboyant and “different” in High School and didn’t even know one end of a horse from the other. She is NOT the woman Tammy has stated! I have the year books to prove it!
Genevieve de Montremare is a scam, although I’ll give her an A+ for creativity. Genevieve Sanders will you please stand up???
Hi Lady Di, my name is Ken Lee, I’m an L.A.-based reporter for PEOPLE magazine looking into Genevieve’s fake death as a possible story in our magazine. I’m interested in speaking with you since you knew her in junior high and high school. Here’s my contact details: ken_lee@peoplemag.com, 626 376 0666 cell. Thank you.
Check out the following link from the Fresno Superior Court web site (scroll down to pages 4-7 of the .pdf document). http://www.fresnosuperiorcourt.org/_pdfs/tentative_rulings/law_motion/03-18-2010.pdf The case is Gwartz, et. al. v. Weilert, et. al. You will see that Genevieve De Montremare and her husband, Michael Weilert, are currently facing legal action for faking her death, in order to inflate their equestrian sales. Further, you will see where they discuss that Genevieve is not – and never was – a doctor or a geneticist. Genevieve is NOT dead – she committed a cruel hoax.
WOW! I know. I already did th research. After having known her personally, I knew she could be a bit ‘quirky’ and some things were questionable, but wow.
Could this be true, and why? I just think if it is true, they need help.
According to the court documents, the “why” appears to be that she and her husband were trying to inflate the prices of their equestrian sales. Presumably, the thinking was to turn her into a deceased breeding legend, so that equestrian assets that had belonged to her would bring more money at sale. Ironically, according to this document, it appears that Genevieve never was the geneticist or doctor that she claimed to be – a claim which she had used to bolster her image. It’s unbelievable that someone could concoct so much fraud against so many innocent equestrian fans.
I don’t know. She was still an angel to many and did many good things and there are few that have actually been hurt by anything she did. She helped the breed more than damaged anything, and I do not believe that prices or quality have suffered at all due to anything she may have done.
She loved the Friesian, and she was still a very smart lady – maybe not good – but smart.
This ‘discovery’ is mainly because of the sale of her estate, not any horses.
I believe they need serious help and I hope her daughter, Christiana, gets the help she needs soon.
You say Genevieve “was still a very smart lady – maybe not good – but smart” and that she “did many good things”.
So was Hitler. He was smart – maybe not good – but smart. He also did many good things, such as building the economy of Germany and high quality child welfare laws. I think the comparison therefore fits quite well.
Nobody would call Hitler an angel, so do not call Genevieve an angel please.
Well, I didn’t know her, so I don’t know if she was an “angel” or not… But I find it hard to imagine an “angel” committing fraud… and I find it hard to imagine an “angel” faking her own death and knowingly allowing people to grieve her death, when she is very much alive… and I find it hard to believe that an “angel” would lie to people and claim to have a doctorate in genetics, when she doesn’t…and, worse still, I find it hard to imagine an “angel” teaching her teenage child to engage in fraud…
But, that’s just my perspective. She may have been/be a likable person to people, but I believe this activity qualifies as severely disturbed and, probably, criminal.
Like you, I hope she gets some major help.
As further evidence, here is the court docket link…
http://banweb.co.fresno.ca.us/cprodsnp/ck_public_qry_doct.cp_dktrpt_frames?backto=D&case_id=09CECG01032&begin_date=&end_date=
(you will see that Genevieve is listed under the defendants, if you scroll down)
Hi Elizabeth,
I am not trying to defend what she did. I do agree with you.
What I said was she was an angel to many. I do know several people she touched personally – maybe a brief lag in her physchosis (?).
She obviously hurt you deeply.
I must tell you that myself and a fellow breeder questioned her ‘doctorate’ many many years ago, as we could never find any mention of her, anywhere.
Although I may sound as if I am defending her, I guess this just doesn’t surprise me since I could never find out anything about her.
I still think she did some good for the Friesian Breed, and she knew her Friesian genetics!
I retract all I have said. The deeper I look, the more I believe that anything she did – she did for herself, notthe people around her.
She has certainly done more harm than good.
Wow!!! this is crazy. So was she French at all?? Did she have a french accent?? She really took me for a ride….
Tammy-
Just where do you suppose Genevieve was hiding while you and hubby Mike were writing her obit?
OMG I can hardly believe that someone would do this.
This woman needs to be in prison. I can not wait to see what the major news networks have to say about a story like this.
I wonder where she is now, and why did she want to sell her horses?
Someone should notify the major news networks. I can imagine it would be a big story – especially since her husband, Michael Weilert, is an M.D. (pathologist) practicing in Fresno, CA – and he was in on the fraud, too.
Caltalker, Genevieve’s maiden name was Sanders – her father was Bill Sanders. ‘Doesn’t sound French to me…
was it Sanders or Saunders?
It was Sanders. I got it wrong earlier. But the obit for Peggy Sanders, her step-mother, shows it as Sanders. Another surname was Hoffman.
LOL she had a pretty good French accent… she said she was royalty in France, from Paris…. this is better then a Sunday night movie, someone should turn her in to the news. I live in Fresno and I am half tempted to go to the trial. How can anyone do this to that many people that looked up to her. They even gave a speciall trophy out in her honor. CRAZY!!!!! that’s all I can say.
wow, just wow.
Bad bad lady….and to think of ALL the people she fooled in the horse industry….
I have been a part of organizations she took part in, have been in phone conferences with her discussing rules and board meeting type stuff…(Or WAS it her?)
I hope they throw the book at both her and her husband, they deserve the maximum penalties for making a life out of scamming people and living a total lie.
WOW! I was doing some research on the Friesian Horse for a story I am writing and some how came to this great debate. I have no idea who she was or is. I wish now I was move involved in the FRIESIAN HORSE WORLD.
I knew Genevieve for several years; met her online, visited her once on the ranch in Clovis, but the rest of our communication was lengthy telephone conversations. I knew there were inconsistencies in her stories (for one thing, she pronounced some French words incorrectly), but her stories were indeed wildly entertaing, her life supposedly a cavalcade of tragedy, from having been raped and beaten and left for dead on the Berkely campus, her fiancee being killed in a car crash on the way to their wedding, her work for the CIA, etc. She did appear to have a genetics lab in her barn, and I did in fact see the scars on her arms where the portals for her leukemia treatments had been done. I could never parse what was true and what was fiction. But I do know this: she was perhaps the most knowledgeable person I ever met, and could speak authoritatively on a dazzling range of subjects. But I was finally so frustrated by not knowing truth from fiction that I drifted away from her. I only just now tried to email her to check up on her, to find her email address is no longer active. So I googled her, only to find that she died – and then find she wasn’t dead but faked her death. OMG What a story…
Genevieve, taught Shakespeare farms the tricks of the trade!!!!!!!!’
There are very untrustworthy people in this buisness, why be shocked !!!!
Does anyone know what happened to them in the trial??? or did she get out of it? Still is all so unbelievable, I’m sure she’s reading these blogs here about her. If you are Angelique, that’s what she told me her “true friends” call her lol what a joke, email caltalker i would love to hear the whole story about your life, nothing good on TV anymore, at least not as interesting as you are.
Who knows?? she might have got away wilh the whole issue, false people usally do! she is just another friesian nut job!!!!!!!! She’s one of many.
“Genevieve” is not her real first name either. She worked as a lab assistant at Fresno Community Hospital years ago… in the late 80’s where she met her pathologist husband, but her first and last name were completely different back then.
Hi Mitchell
If you are reading this forum, could you contact me please? I have a couple of questions I would like to ask if you don’t mine. I appreciate your time.
She was just another scam that people between Fresno and euope fell for! she had help here in the states to do her scam!!! others made much money on her pre planned death!!!
So what’s goin on with her husband? he’s a prominent pathologist in the area. I Think he has his own lab in clovis and he’s affiliated with Fresno Community. This cant be good for his career and reputation. And where is Gevieve? I would think the Media would have a hay day with this one. It’s soooooo unsual.
Yes, he is the CEO of Sierra Pathology Laboratory in Clovis. He has many pathologist partners in his group and I am curious if they know about this amazing story. I would think when this finally hits the media it wouldn’t be good for his business.
Genevieve’s name used to be Anna. She is not french. She was a non-licensed lab employee (assistant) at Community Hospital in Fresno for a number of years before she married Dr. Weilert. I would also be curious to know if his other pathologist partners at his lab know about all of this. I can’t imagine they would continue to be supportive of him being the CEO of their pathology business if they knew his character and was in question in the public eye and in the court of law.
Rumor has it that the Fresno Bee is currently working on this story with plans to publish it in the near future. It should be interesting.
The proceedings are still going on. You can find the progressing court documents at fresno courthouse site. The plaintiff is writing a book. Will be interesting to see the Fresno Bee article.
Michael Weilert also was on a Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the City of Clovis’ Planning (City of Clovis
Southeast Urban Center Specific Plan) in 2003. He stands to lose community status as well.
Hi,
I’m the photo editor at The Bee and we are working on a story.
Does anyone have any images of Genevieve de Montremare or Dr. Michael Weilert they would be willing to share? There are very very few of her anywhere-even from 1986 when she was named the National Raisin Queen.
You can contact me at photo@fresnobee.com
Thanks
Renee
I knew it all along and when I exposed her for being a liar I was villified by all in her little community.
So for all the money,
the power,
the horses,
the cheap accent that never worked for me,
the lies she wrote on the inbternet playing like she was her grieving hubby and her daughter,
she is rotton to the core.
This feeling that some had- that they knew her- and were embraced by her-
yet had no clue she was a mumu wearing FAKE fattie who stayed locked in her own self imposed dungeon of gloom and food, ………you did not know her at all.
It seemed to make some folks think they were far better than others around them, so hopefully,you have learned one big thing-
you do put on your pants one leg at a time as everyone does and your horses do not give you the right to look down on anyone.
She bred some nice horses and some barkers….- as any breeder will get, but no one ever said a word.
I don’t know if she had her hand in any of her stallions demise, but it would never surprise me- faking ones’ own death is the ultimate betrayal.
I hope she goes to prison, she did hurt many people.
Lol, here I am trying to understand the Friesian horse world because I have loved them ever since I was a child and vowed to one day own and breed them; then on the beginning of my very serious search into this very strange and fascinating bunch of “people” who own and breed them I run into this lol lol lol! I must say it has made the breed ever more curious and mysterious if nothing else to me. I am very much for the preservation of pure antique bloodlines and hope to enter this world within the next decade. The fact that this group of people, I must say I have fallen in love with you all for your wonderful loyalty to the breed and defense of its purpose and magic of existence. Keep at it. What an interesting, strange, sad story… but definitely worth the follow. I had heard nothing about it till I read it here. With today’s media you would think they would have drooled all over this one already and plastered it across our television screens in the main news, but nothing so far…
Portals for chemo are not put into the arms near the veins.
They are usually placed under general or local pain meds and located in the upper chest.
Scratching and self mutilation would be my guess- and for every supposed hospital stay -she was out in record time- – and those who knew her know she did not have luekemia.
They just said nothing. Her wrath was frightening and they all had friesians so they were scared and put up with her lies.
Few on chemo gain 150 lbs.
For her the truth was in her own mind, and she actually knew less about genetics – she could read and so she did look up the same information that can be found in a google search engine.
I feel truly badly for her child- – her husband is a man at the end of his rope with a mentally ill wife and he did not want his heralded kingdom ( that she had created,) to end.
Guess what Mikey- all your work as a good DR. will not be remembered- but your lies and this travesty on unsuspecting, innocent people shall be.
What a fool.
Actual you can gain a lot of weight due to the steroids and such.
I was in a couple of college Chemistry classes with her in 1989 or 1990, cant remember which, at CSUB. Beautiful girl who drove the boys, myself included, to distraction. She called herself Genevieve de Montremare at the time. I remember one course where she didnt attend for a stretch of several weeks and when she returned, the story was that she had breast cancer and that she had it removed. She got plenty of sympathy from the students and even the instructor, who was not normally impressed with hot chicks. She went back to the Fresno/Clovis area after a year and I remember speaking to her on the phone once and then not being able to connect with her after. This may have been the seed of her future behavior.
After acquiring Storm Shadow with my former client Davis, hearing the heart wrenching story over and over from Hildreth about Genevieve I found myself crying at the disparity of the whole situation. Knowing that I had the life changing opportunity of winning the award that was named in the honor of Genevieve’s death, there I was rejoicing knowing how proud Genevieve would have been to see her “hard” efforts actually pay off with a horse taking on the world knowing what his pretend destiny was to have been. Then to leave the show year to find out that the whole thing was a scam was the most emotionally damaging thing I have been through in my entire life. Even though 2+ years have passed I still find myself emotionally damaged from the ENTIRE situation. If Storm Shadow wasn’t such an angel and a pivotal point in the changing of my life as a person I would have let it go. I would not continue to have nightmares waking up crying over this situation. Once all of this was said and done I had no desire for life, how can you when you put your heart and soul into something only to find it was a huge fraud? The things people will do and sacrifice for the wellbeing and glory of the animals we choose to love is simply. . .
Hi Sarah Jo,Hope you are well,We were all fooled,G
you bought a dream of yours- even if u assumed it was anothers as well- and so you ride that dream for you
I knew a very different Genevieve than you all are describing. It was because of her that my mother survived her cancer battle for several years after the doctors told her to go home and die. I personally had several personal and business interactions with her, and there was never any deceit.
I spent a majority of my childhood on Genevieve’s Clovis ranch. My grandfather was an employee there and I would spend every Saturday there. I became good friends with her daughter and got to know the family really well. I haven’t spoken to the Weilert family since 2007, but from the 9 years that I knew them I can honestly say that they were really great people. After reading all of this, I do not think less of Genevieve or Mike. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met and I will always have great memories of the time I spent with their family.
This is an amazing story, I knew Genevieve back in the 1980’s when we had a class together at CSU Fresno. I have been trying to track her down for years but this is the first time that I found out about her. It’s very sad to me, we were good friends but apparently it was all fake, her whole story. I won’t reveal the lies that she told me about herself, but suffice it to say that it was a very different Genevieve Sanders that I knew. Well, I still wish her well and hope that perhaps I’ll run into her again one day…
Genevieve , hope you are well. Haven’t heard the phantom of the Opera for a while.
Big NUT! case.. her whole life was phoney, She did not own a single stallion. With 5 top stallions, to choice from, & 10-20 of the best model mares from Holland, she did all the breeding crosses on farm I work on…. Never bred a good horse… was pocketing breeding fees on cross breeding.. I saw a picture of her one time on Wicher, was told she was going to the Olympics on him… What a joke, you could tell by the way she sat on as horse she was not Olympic Material.
Hi, did you work on the farm? Ya she sure was a nut, I only ever saw her get on the stallions for pictures, then get off. I personally drove Wicher 344 through the almond fields when I was only 13 and rode Bonne 341. I was very lucky.
Does anyone know where the Andalusian, Barullo, and the Friesian, Tierdaenof, are? These were my mother’s horses that Genevieve sold.
What a story!