[QUOTE=Jewels09;6406634]
The bigger they come the harder they fall. So sad for all the horses involved. I remember the auction in Wellington, most horses had 6 figure reserves and nothing sold.QUOTE]
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Well, I’m wondering if there’s really a $2500 buyers fee on every sale… I think if they can get 2500 for a 20 year old brood mare that hasn’t produced a foal in 3 years, they’ll be very lucky indeed, never mind a donkey and some old minis…
Glad it’s not just me who found them difficult to deal with. I just hope “real” horse people will go in there on the property, instead of another CVS.
Sadly, this has been coming for while. J&K went on a buying binge some years back in Germany, and although they had very good advice in the beginning (and even in the past couple of years) from very good people, they wouldn’t listen. They overbought, and overbred, and they didn’t always make the best stallion choices for some of their mares. They kept too many colts as stallions, but they wouldn’t send them off for performance testing. (It took a lot of arm-twisting to get them to send Diamond Stud to Silver Creek a few years ago.)
They also had a couple of trainers along the way that took advantage of them, and they since developed a tremendous distrust of trainers, as well as darned near every one else in the horse world. They seemed (seem?) convinced that every one is trying to rip them off, and even though they have had decent offers through the years for some of those horses, but they were/are a bit arrogant and stubborn about it all.
As for the source of the money - story was that they made a small fortune in granite and marble while the economy and real estate market were soaring. Needless to say, the collapse of the real estate market over the past few years has wiped out a lot of businesses like that. :sigh:
I truly hope and pray ALL the horses and ponies land softly. It is heartbreaking to see mares like Jeunesse D’or and Rikorella, etc., on the auction block.
And I believe Diamond Stud is still at Dreamscape Farm. I do not know his status - a friend made a sales inquiry to FL some months ago, but never heard back. 
I have owned Rikorella’s 2001 gelding by Harvard, Houdini, since he was two years old. He is a beautiful dark bay, has a wonderful temperament and can be ridden anywhere by just about anyone. I’m sad to see that his mom is going to be auctioned in this sale.
Sad…
I am truly sad that this has happened, as I have a fabulous 2012 Diamond Stud filly that is definitely the best dressage foal I have bred so far.
I will email Jennifer at Dreamscape to see if she knows what has become of him, as he is on my repeat list. Lovely, lovely stallion!
[QUOTE=JWB;6406478]
Jeunesse D’or - and she’s not so terribly old - 15 now. I think she may have been a youngster when I was there… They had a few babies and the name is very familiar.[/QUOTE]
Yes. She’s a nice mare - I met her 3 years ago - here are pictures. They had a 2 yr old by her they showed off as well, but I can’t recall its name and my photos aren’t tagged, but I remember it was a VERY nice horse.
What a lovely mare. She can come and live with me anytime. 
[QUOTE=Perfect Pony;6406100]
I have less and less respect for volume breeders and morally would rather deal with a smaller breeder who has a plan for every single horse that hits the ground.[/QUOTE]
Agree.
As the years go by, you can’t help but notice who was in this for the right reasons. There have been so many “flashes in the pan” that have come and gone, while small time breeders stick with their passion (on a realistic scale) and do right by each and every horse they produce.
Eek, I just heard from a friend that the catalyst for this auction was as a result of an accident that happened late last year when a farrier was killed while working on a horse at Highlife. It was a freak accident where the horse pulled a wall down on top of him. Tragic.
Reminder to everyone to take precautions while a horse is in the crossties!!!
There is a young mare for sale, HL Lucena, a 2008 by my stallion Lansing who used to stand at HL. I can’t personally speak for her but know that he produces beautiful, talented, smart horses, I have a 2010 filly by him. You can see him and other offspring on my website, www.fernhillwarmbloods.com. I would love to take her but I am full with 5. If someone can give her a good home, it says there is no reserve.
Lansing is by Lemgo from the famous Landgraf line and also Cor de la Bryere on his dam’s side. He was a grand prix jumper, working hunter and finally retired as my amateur owner jumper. He has a wonderful personality, is very gentle and somewhat of a ham. He puts wonderful bone on his offspring, and this match was a TB mare so I imagine she is a wonderfully built filly.
I’m keeping a close eye and hope that these horses find homes that they deserve where they will be well taken care of. They didn’t do anything to deserve this.
Wow, there are some seriously nice horses on that sales list. I am awfully tempted. Is “Der Euro” the same horse that sold for a zillion dollars at an auction in Europe many years ago? I remember there being quite a bit of buzz about him back then.
For anyone who wants to bid, I board at a barn not far from there and we have some empty stalls this time of year - if you wanted a place to park the horse until transportation, etc gets straightened out…
[QUOTE=Forte;6416483]
Wow, there are some seriously nice horses on that sales list. I am awfully tempted. Is “Der Euro” the same horse that sold for a zillion dollars at an auction in Europe many years ago? I remember there being quite a bit of buzz about him back then.[/QUOTE]
Yes, same horse. I believe he had some soundness issues for a while, but I do not know what his status is these days.
Der Dollar is his full brother, and was licensed by Oldenburg at one point. I do not believe he ever met his performance requirements, though.
Just wondering what type of prices do we think these horses are going to go for? Is it being advertised anywhere? I would love to get my hands on Conda 13 or Ostria, wonder if they have had a foal recently?
I suspect prices will be all over the board. I’ll be surprised if certain lots get any bids at all. The youngest horses in the auction are from 2010 so I’m GUESSING that it’s the last year they produced foals.
They tried to sell lots of these horses at an auction in 2010 but they all had huge reserves and very little sold.
Conda has not had a foal in years. I think her youngest would be about five now.
[QUOTE=belle5429;6419137]
Just wondering what type of prices do we think these horses are going to go for? Is it being advertised anywhere? I would love to get my hands on Conda 13 or Ostria, wonder if they have had a foal recently?[/QUOTE]
The auction is being handled by a company that is primarily a real estate auction house. Little info on their site about the horses, other than a list and some pedigree info. It seems to be known in the general area that the horses will be sold, who knows if the horses specifically has been advertised anywhere .
My guess is the prices in general will be pretty low relatively speaking; many of these horses have been for sale for a while; a lot of broodmares, very few riding horses…
On the auction site, click on each horses picture and it lists below whether there is a reserve or not. Most of them do not have a reserve so I expect that prices will vary. I imagine that with a total liquidation, which this appears to be, there won’t be too high prices unless bidders legitimately drive them. It may be a good chance to get some nice horses at good prices and give them a good home.
Thanks guys for the information, I checked out all the photos! What a nice group of horses, I really hope that they get some good homes.
I noticed the actual farm can be bid on via online, wonder if any of the horses can be bid on online? I would love to keep an eye on it online and if the price is fair for one of the pony mares I would be interested.
Also, what do you guys know about any of the pony mares being auctioned one is by Champion De Lux. What can you say about that stallion any experience? The mare is High Lifes Navina.
Can you give me the link to the auction site with pictures? Thanks.
