Goresbridge Sales: a potential buyer’s experience

We must thank Sarah-Jane of ShoeString Eventing for writing an article about her recent visit to the Goresbridge sales in Ireland. Make sure to take the time to visit both ShoeString Eventing’s website and facebook page – a great read.

 

Last month I made my first trip to the sales in Ireland in the search for a young potential eventer.  Goresbridge sales has been the source of a number of top eventers including Tankers Town, Lenamore, Imperial Cavalier and Mr Medicott, amongst many others.

 

I can understand UK breeders’ and producer’s frustration when buyers leave the UK bound for Ireland ignoring the home-produced quality horses that are available here. So what is the attraction? A number of factors made me choose to go to the sales:-

·         The number of horses available to look at in one place (500 over 3 days)
·         Horse already vetted highlighting problems prior to bidding
·         A catalogue available weeks in advance that allows research
·         Price – with the amount of horses available rarely is something sold at an inflated price and the odd bargains can be had

There are disadvantages, the obvious one being the cost of travelling over, however I was surprised how reasonable this was. We flew from Bristol to Dublin which cost £45 return and the B&B was 30 Euros a night. The other costs can all be shared depending on the number of people in the party but was £29 for parking at the airport, £45 for car hire and 50 Euros in fuel. If you make a purchase at the sales you are eligible for a travel incentive of about £75. (The value of the purchase must be over £2.5k)

I was very lucky in that although it was my first trip to the sales I travelled with an experienced companion who had visited the sales many times before. I think if you are having your first sales experience an experienced companion is essential. Failing that any companion that can share the responsibility and the running round to see five things at once!

The day starts at 9.30 Irish time (nearly 10) with horses in number order being jumped in the indoor arena. This gives a good chance to see them moving and their technique over a fence. However for any horses we were interested in we tried to see them in the stables first and then warmed up outside in another arena. There was opportunity to ask questions and even for a brief ride (not a jump) before the horse went in the ring.
Prior to going to Ireland we had gone through the catalogue in detail marking horses that met age, size and breeding criteria. It is often as important to note what is not said in the description as what is. I always looked for a phrase such as ‘broken and riding well, good to shoe box, ride and clip’. An absence of such a phrase made me wary. Also anything stated in the catalogue found later to be untrue does mean the horse can be returned.  Some horses already had Eventing Ireland form or Show Jumping form so again pre-sale I went through their records, which are free online.

Sale day we arrived about 8:30 to watch the horses arriving and see if any were being worked early. One horse we had marked had clearly been ridden a while when we arrived and was sweaty so this was crossed off as sensible ride for me was important. Where possible we then looked at them in the stables (they had numbered stables). By this point ¾ of the list had been crossed off as they either were not my type or had some conformation fault I didn’t like.

Those that I still liked I went to the office and checked the vet certificates. I was very disappointed when a horse I particularly liked was noted as making a noise. There is also the opportunity to have a further vetting immediately after the sale.

By this time the list was manageable and where possible I went to watch them first got on (cold backed or bucking were crossed off), then ridden as well as jumped. Sadly not all the horses in the catalogue turned up at the sales and a few I liked may have been sold beforehand. In typical Irish fashion there was no list of withdrawals, it was quite casual.

After the horses had been jumped there was a gap of an hour or so and they went into the auction ring. Very easy at this point to get carried away. I have been warned not to look too keen as it is not uncommon for someone to see this and run the price up by bidding against you with no intention of buying!

So the big question what did I buy? Sadly nothing. For me this sale lacked a bit of quality and since returning I have found out the October sale can be a little more hit and miss with the nicer quality young horses being sold at previous sales. Prices were quite variable and the nice horses still generally made a decent price. For example a very nice 5 year old jumping 1.20 tracks was unsold at 6.5k despite making a noise. On the other hand there was a nice chestnut 4 year old by Ghareeb (the closest I got to bidding) that sold for 2.5k and was surely a bargain for someone.

So having been would I go again? Yes without a doubt, maybe not in October, but would love to visit a Spring sale. It is certainly an experience available to most people and budgets, but like any horse buying the buyer must beware!