European young horse auctions

[Lord_Helpus]

I just came across a lovely 3 year old horse who is selling at Brightwells Elite Auction in England, held in conjunction with the English young horse championships.

http://www.worldofshowjumping.com/en/News/Advertorials/Advertisement-In-The-Spotlight-Maxamillion-selling-at-Brightwells-Elite-August-Auction.html

Does anyone have a feel for the kind of money such a horse would sell for in a private transaction in Europe? If it was in the US, based on what I have seen as a buyer and also as a seller of 3 and 4 year olds, I think the horse would sell for $25,000 – $45,000. It will be interesting to see if he sells for less at auction than at a private sale.

[Kareen]

Highly unlikely that it would sell for less at an auction than a private sale. These auctions go with a lot of expectations from the sellers plus they have to factor in the expenses of sending their horse (preparation time, training during the auction, extra vetting, auction fees…) it does tend to pile up and with the training phase being pretty high octane for the horse you more often than not end up paying for a variety of veterinary services from skin issues to stress related problems etc.
The market for jumpers in Europe is definitely picking up as there are fewer and fewer horses available as a result of the decreasing numbers of mares bred

[andy.smaga]

I’m not sure that the selling price will be influenced by the extra costs of training, traveling, auction costs, etc…
From my experience the major elements influencing the price is the way the horse will present himself and the way he will jump in the chute.

[Lord_Helpus]

I have read comments about horses who jump 3’ higher than a jump in the chute. These comments say that the horse must have been “prepared” to jump like that.

What does one do the “prepare” a horse to jump like that? Pole them? Use wide offsets? Or just push them to jump really high? And how much can you improve a horse’s natural talent?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

[Tongue in cheek] I’m waiting for someone to come on here and say, “we pole them” (or worse). I don’t know if anyone will admit that they have even seen such things…

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

I would guess poling would be the most common. Who knows, though? But it certainly is obvious sometimes at these auctions, and some licensings, which horses have had some…umm…unnatural encouragement.

[Nootka]

Some also put spikes on the poles. Last one I saw was like a spikey matt tacked around the pole.

(It was a picture. I wasn’t at the event)

[caballogurl]

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8275815]
I have read comments about horses who jump 3’ higher than a jump in the chute. These comments say that the horse must have been “prepared” to jump like that.

What does one do the “prepare” a horse to jump like that? Pole them? Use wide offsets? Or just push them to jump really high? And how much can you improve a horse’s natural talent?[/QUOTE]

Sadly one of my friends, who is a dealer in Europe, told me about another dealer in her area that puts chemicals on the horses legs and then poles them. The chemicals burn and then when the horses get poled it is a double burn. Breaks my heart to hear stories like that :no:. That dealer also sends quite a few horses through the Brightwells Auctions :(. Not to say there are not genuinely nice horses that go through the auction, I would just prefer to purchase through someone I have a relationship with and that does not perform “tricks” to get their horses to jump. Plus I feel at auctions, horse prices can get artificially bid up, especially when booze is involved :winkgrin:.

[alexandra]

[QUOTE=andy.smaga;8274012]
I’m not sure that the selling price will be influenced by the extra costs of training, traveling, auction costs, etc…
From my experience the major elements influencing the price is the way the horse will present himself and the way he will jump in the chute.[/QUOTE]

You are not going to tell us that in case you own a horse, have a lot of costs in them that occur only at an auction, you would not be doing things to get as much Money for them to cover your costs plus the expanses that only occur at an auction ? Well - the people I know would at least try to get their Investment back by haveing a reserve, someone bidding up etc.). Yes a horse that presents it self not well, will not be as expansive, but that does not mean a buyer gets it for that lower price. I a lot of cases the sellers buy the horses back.

[Willesdon]

The results of previous Brightwell’s sales are available here http://www.brightwells.com/Equine/HorsesAndPonies/DressageAndShowJumping/DressageAndShowJumping/PastResults/SalesReviews.aspx

Rather than looking for the negative, remember that these horses are pre-selected, vetted and are bred to do the job!

[andy.smaga]

[QUOTE=alexandra;8276328]
You are not going to tell us that in case you own a horse, have a lot of costs in them that occur only at an auction, you would not be doing things to get as much Money for them to cover your costs plus the expanses that only occur at an auction ? Well - the people I know would at least try to get their Investment back by haveing a reserve, someone bidding up etc.). Yes a horse that presents it self not well, will not be as expansive, but that does not mean a buyer gets it for that lower price. In a lot of cases the sellers buy the horses back.[/QUOTE]
When you buy back or have someone else bidding then you have to pay the commission to the auction and it’s a significant percentage, so You think twice before going this route.

[alexandra]

[QUOTE=andy.smaga;8277666]
When you buy back or have someone else bidding then you have to pay the commission to the auction.[/QUOTE]
Well - that is not completely and not always true …

[Lord_Helpus]

[QUOTE=Willesdon;8276738]
The results of previous Brightwell’s sales are available here http://www.brightwells.com/Equine/HorsesAndPonies/DressageAndShowJumping/DressageAndShowJumping/PastResults/SalesReviews.aspx

Rather than looking for the negative, remember that these horses are pre-selected, vetted and are bred to do the job![/QUOTE]

Those prices seem very low, especially for a select sale. With the highest 4 year old only selling for c. $35k - $37k and many selling in the c. $25k range, that is not a lot for a quality horse who goes through the jump chute well.

I was thinking that top ones would go for uo to $50k.

[Willesdon]

Those prices seem very low, especially for a select sale

With the exception of bloodstock sales, the British have traditionally been rather sniffy about buying at auctions. Also, people with money are more likely to buy a race horse than a WB for dressage or show jumping. It is different in continental Europe where a business person will shell out 6 figures for a dressage horse. Brits go overseas to find their jumpers and dressage horses and even eventers these days. Brightwells have been building up continental-style auction sales and had their first eventer sale at Blenheim last year. This is all rather sad for UK breeders who have a tough time.

[adelmo95]

does anyone know where to find the Auction results from today?

[Willesdon]

I presume you mean the Brightwell’s Elite?

http://brightwells.com/Libraries/Dressage_and_Show_Jumping_News/op2578_Addington_Sales_Report.pdf

[cloudyandcallie]

I got an email this week about the soon to be auction of Danish Warmbloods. Some great looking horses there also.

If you know someone here in the USA who imports from europe, he or she will have a bloodstock agent over there who is trustworthy and who knows the pricing for private sales. I bought from an importer who was a friend of a barn owner in Florida. I don’t know if I paid more or less than what my horse would have sold for at auction, but I was very satisfied with the whole transaction. You also have to factor in the airfare to bring the horse over from Germany or another country.

[winter]

Locally, horses often go much cheaper at auction then when sold privately. I think the whole trainer commission game comes into play here more than it does overseas where dealers are more common than individual owners selling through trainers. Also, there is a stigma here that people send their not as good horses to the auction, so a lot of buyers are hesitant to get off their wallets. This is actually not the case for the young horses though, often they are the breeder’s best for that crop. Older riding horses might be a slightly different story.
There are some really nice horses that go through the few sales we have here and often for not a lot of money. If I were shopping for a young horse here I would definitely look at an auction.

[RanchoAdobe]

The nicest collection of young horses I have seen is the Dutch Sporthorse Sales Auction (Stal Hendrix). Some top four and five year old prospects. However, they are priced according to quality and average horse price was 97,000 euro previously and the top ones brought much more. http://dutchhorsesales.com/