Changes are absolutely necessary to bring a good price. And as others have said, the pony would need show miles with a winning record to get a good price. Other factors that would influence the sale would be WHO is offering the pony. People that are recognized as pony people do far better selling a pony than the relatively unknown or more of a horse person. Believe it or not, that is true. The pony must be easily ridable by the age child that would be riding it too. It needs to be able to get a piece of the hack. With the new measurement rule going forward December 1st, being top of the line isn’t as big of a selling feature anymore, (but be sure it will measure in). The pedigree of the pony also should be considered and listed in the sale. Strong performance pedigrees speak volumes and are selling features.
As others have already mentioned, pony is worth half of asking at best. Until the pony has a perm card and USEF record, it is a lesson pony. Maybe a really nice prospect, but still just a lesson pony.
If she wants to maximize her profit, it may be a good idea to find a decent kid to free lease the pony for a year, clean up the changes and put show miles on it, and then sell. Your friend would still need to put in the funds to have pony measured and registered with USEF first, but would have a much better chance of selling this time a year from now if they put that time and effort in. A decent rider without the funds to lease or buy a fancy pony and still afford show fees would be a great match.
Except it will be considered an 11 year old next year and a year from now it will be coming 12 years old and that’s a magic number as far as pricing goes. It’s not as easy selling for a big price as some folk think. It’s all about what they have done, not what they might do for a kid who will grow out of them.
If friend wants to flip it instead of keep it, sell as a kids or lesson pony maybe ask 7500 take anything over 5k. And get it measured ASAP in case it’s 13.3, better find out now then later.
