Hello,
I’ve recently completed a personal article on my horse buying experience in Germany at the Hanoverian Verband Summer Auction. This was my first trip and I had a large learning curve but think I was successful and came back with a beautiful horse. I’ve written the article as a how to guide for others interested in shopping in Europe and have included my research with detailed information and links to resources on planning, traveling, attending and shipping from the auction. If anyone is considering the same trip I’d be willing to answer any questions that I can. The article is on my web site at: http://sensationsporthorses.com/horsebuying.htm
Hope it helps.
Jill
really nice job. hopefully you can keep coming back to give updates as things go along.
thank you so much for writing that.
It was a really neat to read through! :yes:
Given the current exchange rate and the high cost of importing due to increased fuel costs - I would hope more people will buy in the USA. We have quality horses of all ages and training in the United States.
Wow! Great article! I had no idea that auctions were so complicated but also so open to buyers. I’ve never read anything so informative about the process in all my years of hanging around these BBs.
Many many thanks!
ise unfortunately, in america, one very often goes to look at one horse on one trip, and the trip costs a thousand dollars or more, even when one goes and looks at one horse. one goes to europe and it one trip looks at 25 horses, and the trip costs 1500. the math is bad.
even with the lousy exchange rate some people are still feeling they have to go to europe.
if sellers got together and marketed a number of horses at one location it might help, but it’s still hard to make 1 trip and look at 6 psg horses, say, at the same place or on the same trip.
Jill - thank you for your genorisity in sharing your story. I really appreciated all your details, it is clear you have excellent analytical capabilities.
My dream is to have a chance to shop in Europe someday as well, which will fulfill a lifelong dream. Just reading your experience makes the process a little less daunting.
Was there anything you would have done differently (although than remembering the exchange rate 
? Any key lessons learned?
I’m so glad the article was helpful! My intent was to provide a do-it-yourself type of guide. I had done a lot of research prior to departing and just didn’t find much info on the web so thought I’d post my experience. Oh and I agree with the previous post about good horses in America. We have outstanding horses and all the horses I’ve had throughout my life, except Teddy, were American The primary shortcoming is that America is very large and breeding farms are located throughout the country making it diffucult for the buyer to view many horses of the type that they wish to buy all in one visit. I think that is especially ture for the Southwest but likely all over America. Our breeders really need to organize like the Europeans have and start having large organized auctions based on prior selection of horses based on a specific type. I know this is not a simple task but it should be a goal for American breeders.
So, other tips? I would have arrived at the beginning of the 2 week trying period to see the horses over a longer time frame( we arrived 1 week prior to the auction). I think this would also allow the buyer to interact more closely with the staff and gather more information about their short list. Also, I really like the idea of flying back with your horse and would certainly do this in the future if at all possible. Finally, we didn’t really have a broker just a friend of my trainer that bought a few horses a year, but she was of great value for the actual bid process. So bring along someone very clear headed who can bid for you - it really seems to go fast when your excited/emotional. I’d also like to plan a visit to more of the breeding farms on future visits and would love to attend a foal auction.
For anyone else who has been to the auctions I’d appreicate any other suggestions to make the process easier.
thanks much,
Jill
It sounds so simple to tell us breeders to “organize sales”. Germany is a little under twice the size of Wisconsin. So put that into perspective with respect to logisitics here in the US. Also Dressage at Devon occurs EVERY YEAR the last week in September - there are young horses and horses under saddle there ALL WEEK and the stands are always empty for the breeding division and the early part of the performance divisions which includes Suitability classes. A large majority of these horses ARE FOR SALE. Within an hour and a half driving radius of Devon there are DOZENS of breeding farms and training farms with horses of all ages for sale.
I’ve purchased quite a few German Riding Ponies in Germany but work directly with the breeders. I’ve been to an Auction at Verden and also know there’s a “fever” that gets people to bid even when they are way over their budget.
Auctions here in the US have been organized here on the East Coast but most people consider them to be “bargain sales” and many horses go unsold - even though they are excellent quality.
no one said it was simple to ‘organize sales’.
what i DO think breeders can do - rather easily - is create a ‘federation’. If there is cooperation between breeders, an agent could bring customers to 10-12 farms on a trip, reaching out to all farms within a hub area.
when i went to calif to look at horses the agent told me that she would be taking me to 12 different farms - not one, not 2. she had an arrangement with all the farms in the area.
and…sorry…no, not all the sport horse auctions are selling ‘superior individuals’. these USA auctions are, in fact, quite uneven. some of the quality is very good, some is not. there are some good auctions and there are ones that are not, and you never quite know til you get there.
i sat behind some german guys at one auction and they were speaking in german and going on and on about the unevenness of quality of the horses being sold. they didn’t know any of the sellers and didn’t have any ‘friendships’ to protect, and they were telling it like it was.
they also said the prices at the auction were ‘insane’. the horses going for cheap were the nicest ones and the highest priced ones were tthe poorest quality. they told me it was indeed a ‘very hard place to buy a horse’. said ‘yep, i am sitting on my hands’. the whole USA auction thing scares a lot of people. there is a lot of pressure to quickly decide and very little time to observe the animals.
i think a co-op or ‘federation’ makes a lot more sense for a lot more people.
North American Elite Sporthorse auctions
For those who are interested in buying european bloodlines at canadian prices, in a european style auction format (one trip, many great horses), no quarantine, very easy to import to the USA from Canada.
There are good auctions to be found:
This one is next week:
http://www.warmbloodauction.com/
This one in October:
http://www.fallclassicsale.com/
this one is usually in the late fall in Orangeville, Ontario:
http://www.canadianwarmbloods.com/CEWS2006.php
There are others
this is a cool online foal auction, but they haven’t put up the 2008 info yet:
http://www.onlinefoalauction.com/index.php
Its a lie to say you have to travel thousands of miles in North America to see one horse. That was true perhaps 20 years ago, which says a lot about the person who said that’s experience ( i.e. it was a long time ago, wasn’t it? 
)
Nowadays, one trip, well planned, can net you two dozen good prospects, which will take you a few days to view, but they will all be within a 2 hour drive of Vancouver or Toronto.
I am sure the situation in the USA is similar if not better.
There are also a number of importers whose selection you can view on line, the horses are mostly in Europe, but they will take care of the import and quarantine if you are determined to buy european without wanting to travel and haggle.
We breeders have talked about Dressage at Devon on these forums for years. This is THE BIGGEST breed show in the world. It is also unusual in that it has a very wide range of ages, generally from sucklings with their Moms all the way up to 7 year olds under saddle. These horses are the cream of the crop. Horses come from Willy Arts of DG Bar Ranch in California, to Mary Alice Malone of Iron Spring Farm, to Horses Unlimited of New Mexico, to everyone in between, big and small. Many of these classes have over 40 horses in them. The Under Saddle Classes often have to be split for size. There are Mares/Stallions Under Saddle. There are Dressage Suitability. There are Materiale Classes. The North American Breeders’ Futurity for 4, 5 and 6 Year Old Young Horses are held there on Friday with BIG BUCKS as prize money, as well as the final qualifier for the futurity, held on Thursday.
Everyone in this country is always ranting that they can only see 1 horse at a time on a buying trip. There are over 400 of the top horses in this country ages <6 months up to about 7 years. And as ISE said, many of them are for sale and most of the breeders have information on others, just as nice, for sale at home.
You want to see nice horses??? Come to Dressage at Devon for the Breeding Division Show, September 23 - 26, and stay if you want for a HUGE FEI only show from Friday night, the 26th through the 28th.
Most of these horses, of all ages, have already qualified for finals. All of them are nice. It’s quite an honor to receive even a 10th place at Devon as these horses are the best of the best. The stables are always open for visiting and breeders LOVE talking about their horses.
These horses are all cleaned and braided to within an inch of their lives. If you don’t trust your own judgement, there are some of the top judges in the world at Devon who give their opinions in the scores.
Stop yapping about how hard it is to see horses all in one place in the US and come on down!!! There’s plenty of room in the stands and around the grounds for all. Devon has some of the best horse show food in the country and vendors extraordinaire. [I]
Please[/I] stop talking about no place in this country to see lots of horses in one place and come this year.
Thank you for the other options and detailed background - I had heard of Dressage at Devon, but didn’t have an understanding for the “scope” of the event.
That said - it would be wonderful to have a similiar format on the West Coast - to lesson the cost of shipping cross-country.
The other reason I have wanted to shop is Europe is what I hear about the training fundamentals that are established in their horses.
I don’t know if I am fooling myself - but the many imported horses I see being shown in my area - just have that “extra something”.
Ultimately, I understand if we want to continue to see people in the US/Canada investing in raising and training horses we need to support them.
For those who aren’t familiary with Dressage at Devon - it’s just outside PHiladelphia - and not too far from Baltimore. The show runs Tuesday to Sunday with the breeding division starting on Tuesday. The Grand Prix rides are at night under the lights with plenty of entertainment during the breaks. There is a very large trade fair of vendors and a food court. You can walk around the barns and see the horses. Plenty of hotels at King of Prussia and Valley Forge and also plenty of “shopping” there as well - 2 huge malls.
There are a lot of advantages to shopping in Europe when the exchange rate is favorable. I have purchased about a dozen horses there. Auctions are very interesting because you can often see several of horses with particular bloodlines in one place. This can really give a feel for genetics/traits that are common. Plus it is a great place to meet breeders. If you don’t see what you want at the auction, chances are it can be found near by. The other major advantage when you buy a horse at the auction is that the Verband provides short term insurance that includes coverage for transportation costs on all horses sold. That relieves some of the concern about having a horse delivered that isn’t quite right.
Looking to buy a horse at horse show just isn’t the same, IMO. Yes there are a lot of horses at DaD, but some are there to compete, some are there for sale but not really. At the auction it is clear that all sellers are motivated. I like that. And the Hannoverian Verband (as well others) have a really good program to protect buyers.
Been to Devon (first time, 1974, I think), and still feel shopping at a horse show isn’t the best option, though it is nice to see alot of horses in one place and it does help to see different bloodlines
However, the breed show brings in a lot of youngsters, broodmares and breeding stallions, not all are under saddle. Additionally, one generally doesn’t buy at the show and haul home. It will usually mean a trip to the farm after the show, and the farms are spread around. Vetting won’t take place at the show, and one can’t always get one’s trainer to take a week off and go to Devon if having the trainer evaluate the horse is part of the picture.
There still aren’t a lot of horse dealers in the USA with 10 FEI horses to show you, or 10 2nd level horses, or 10 third level horses. It just isn’t here, and breeders don’t predominantly sell trained horses. This is another reason why people sometimes go to Europe.
On the other hand, I do think it is really important to support American breeders. Going to Europe for something one can find in the USA doesn’t make sense either.
For several years the Mid Atlantic Hanoverian Breeders Group sponsored a sale, it was not an auction. We opted not to do it as an auction since here in the states, it is thought that people are not selling their best at auctions (which is another topic as to why auctions don’t seem to work very well here).
I personally put horses into this sale for several years until it was decided that we should no longer “bother” to do it. For all the years that we did participate (I think it was 7 years?) it was a huge undertaking for all involved and very few people ever came…a perfect example of Germany vs. US-there were a minimum of 20 horses in one place and hardly anyone came. We considered it successful because there were some sales, I believe on average at least two per year, could be more. We thought long and hard before no longer doing it and we discussed at length the options of putting something like this together to work in conjunction with DAD but the process was prohibitive-if it was the week before, how long would horses need to be in those stalls, would anyone come if they were coming back the next week to show, the liability for Devon, etc. There were recent discussions as to how the AHS could get involved with an auction here in the US (the Verband is very much behind this idea) but again, the venue was an issue along with who would send their horses, how could trainers take that much time away from their normal routines, all of it is HUGE and unless the buyers show interest in attending events like this, I think they will continue to fall apart. Too bad there is not a web site that is similar to match.com for horses!
For those that doubt it, MANY of the horses ARE for sale at DAD and MANY have sold as a result of DAD. I usually take mine to get them “seen” just in case there is an interested buyer but pretty typically it is the horse owners that are buying from each other.
I have attended auctions in Germany and yes, it is exciting and easy to get caught up in the atmosphere, I too, have seen horses go well beyond what might have been considered “normal” pricing but that is what an auction is all about. I purchased and imported my competition horse in 2001, I would consider her a true bargain based on today’s prices since she was most likely one of the last of the DM before the Euro hit. (I remember shopping in Verden thinking I had hit a 2 for 1 sale at the local tack shop when buying with the DM-those days are long gone!).
I think the post above by “nhwr” made a lot of really good points.
I bought a horse at the auction in Verden last summer. I have to say it was an amazing experience and I plan to do it again. What I really liked, is that you could see the horses being worked for a week straight…indoors and out…you could choose to ride the ones you were interested in everyday if you wanted (I didn’t, I only rode the one I bought once) It is also invaluable to see other people riding the horses you like to see how they tolerate inexperienced riders.
The people who organize and work the auction are very helpful, as are the riders and grooms. They are very honest about the horses’ personalities and how they are to ride. The atmosphere is very busy, so it is also nice to see how the horses handle the stress of being really pushed all week. I saw a couple of horses behave very badly during some of the training rides, and at the end of the week, when the final notes came out about each horse, it was disclosed that the horse should go to someone experienced.
I also liked the fact that at pretty much anytime you are welcome to go through the barns and go into the horses stalls to see how they are on the ground and being brushed. Where in the US can you spend a week watching over 100 horses being trained and have the opportunity to ride the them all week if you wish? Several vets have also vetted the horses and are happy to e-mail radiographs to your hometown vet. Bidding was very easy…I was concerned that I wouldn’t know waht was going on since I don’t speak German, but I was fine bidding on my own.
Even with the bad exchange rate, I find it a very efficient way to shop for quality prospects.
However, I do believe that there are very nice horses bred here in the US and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy an American bred horses either!
And I do understand why people shop in Europe though buying now with the exchange rate makes no sense unless you are getting some super deal with no agents involved. But here are some other differences - people try horses at the Auctions in Germany at their own risk - they don’t require helmets and if you hurt yourself it’s your problem. In the US people come to try horses and even if they mis-represent their riding ability the owner and/or agent still must have complete release forms and hope (even with good state laws in place) that they don’t get sued if the rider gets hurt.
PPE’s in Europe and PPE’s in the US are at opposite ends of the medical spectrum. AND - the Vets in Europe all understand what x-rays of WARMBLOOD horses should look like at varying ages. Here the horses are vetting up the wazoo and it always seems like the goal is to FIND SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE HORSE. Also Vets here like to think they have the ability to see into the future as to whether a young horse will go Grand Prix.
And please don’t say buying at horse shows doesn’t work - the Hunter people do it all the time. I’ve seen people wait at the out gate to make an offer on a horse or pony at the show - even when they have no idea if it’s for sale!!
The first time I went horse shopping in Germany, we got to Verden a week before the auction. We worked with an agent for a day or two but did most of our shopping on our own. It was surprisingly easy. We spent the first day just hanging out in the auction hall watching the training session. You could actually tell a lot about the horses based on who was riding them. We had nicknames for the riders like dressage Hans and dressage Pierre or jumping Hans and jumping Pierre. The riders were very helpful. There was one horse I was very interested in - he had absolutely crazy legs. The rider looked me in the eye before I got on him and tactfully asked if I rode a lot. He said this horse is very hot (and he was). There was another horse I was interested in and the vet advised me against looking at that one because it had had surgery for roaring and he didn’t like how it was done. If you described the type of horses you were interested in, the Verband staff were happy to make recommendations.
We stayed at the inn across the street from the Verband and met many many horse people there. That added a few horses to our shopping list. And the scene in the bar was a lot of fun every night, though a bit smoky for someone from California. We spent sometime most days at the auction hall between trips to breeding farms and training/sales barns. We could see the horses we were interested in their stalls and with several people riding them. On that trip we did not end up buying anything at the sale. But the really interesting thing was that because the sellers all knew we were looking at auction horses, I think we had good negotiating leverage on the horses we bought. There was one horse that was a little higher than we had budgeted and the seller wouldn’t come down to our maximum til I suggested that we take our chances on that Hohenstein gelding at the auction. Guess what? We did arrive at a deal on that horse. :yes: There is a lot of advantage for the buyer in a well managed auction environment.
There are a lot of very nice horses in the US. But because of the lack of any organization that will support such and endeavor, the size of the country and the relativity sparsity of horses, it will be tough to find anything like a German auction here.
