What separates a registry-sanctioned
select foal auction from any oth- er kind of online sport horse auction is the se- lection process itself. All foals entered have been personally inspected and those in the ‘Select’ sec- tion were individually in- vited to participate, creat- ing a unique collection of foals being marketed in a truly modern way. Te other puzzle piece that fit every- thing together was the availability of great quality pho- tos of the foals, taken by the RPSI staff at every site along the inspection tour and offered free of charge to mem- bers entering their foals. In the end, the planning and hard work paid off
for many of the foal owners and shoppers. Te sec- ond annual RPSI foal auction, held in November 2014, again brought both a fair percentage of sales and a large amount of exposure for the breeders’ foals and farms. Each auction boasted nearly 30,000 page views, with an average sale price of $5,200 and $7,600 per auction. Quite a few foals ended up selling in the winter months after the auction or in the registry’s other online auction, the Mid-Winter Mixed Sale, held each January. Jennifer and Armin Arnoldt of Dreamscape Farm in
British Columbia, Canada consigned and sold two of their RPSI branded foals in the 2013 foal auction. Ar- min explains what attracted him to the idea. “North American breeders need a better way to mar-
ket their product. In Europe, the registries help with this, and it works out for everyone. But auctions in Eu- rope work because they are nice and close. Here to en- ter a horse in a regular auction you need to take a holi- day from work, get a hotel and travel across the coun- try—and then hope the thousands you’re spending will actually pay off!” Armin says. “I thought this auction was a great idea, and had a
really good result. With an online auction, what can you lose? If they don’t sell, so what? You get some ex- posure and marketing from it all, at a little price—how wrong can you go?” he adds. “What’s important to remember about this auc-
tion, though, is that the foals are pre-selected—just like in Europe—and that makes it more than just an online auction. You know what you’re getting, and that the person on the other end of the phone actually has seen the foals, evaluated the foals, and knows the breeding programs they are coming from.” Amanda Preston of Shimmer-E Equestrian in Al- berta, Canada is a small breeder who sold her 2014 colt
58 January/February 2015
in the second annual auction. “Consigning to this
auction was my very first experience in selling horses in this manner,” Amanda says. “It was such a positive and stress-free experience that I decided I would consign to it again. My colt’s new owner
was looking for something specific, found it in this sale and likely wouldn’t have had such easy access to find him without the auction.” Other upcoming RPSI online auctions will be the
2015 Mid-Winter Mixed sale, featuring RPSI branded horses of all ages, as well as mares and stallions in the RPSI books. Also, the RPSI hosts a Stallion Service Auction in February, so watch the RPSI webpage and Facebook page for updates and contests too!
Te Annual RPSI Breeders Tour Te RPSI Breeders Tour to the South German Stallion Approvals in Munich at the end of January offers RPSI breeders, riders and trainers the chance to learn more about the bloodlines and selection process in Europe, as well as an unparalleled opportunity to shop for young stallions and competition prospects early in the season. Each January 80 three-year-old stallions (40 dressage, 40 jumpers) are selected from 600 top youngsters from all across Germany to take part in this cooperative li- censing and auction. Tis year’s breeder’s tour will take place January 29–
31, with the opportunity to stay on after the approv- als to visit the PRPS headquarters and training center (Pferdezentrum) and several stallion stations and train- ing farms, as well as tour castles and villages in the Mo- sel and Rhine river wine districts. Te South German Stallion Approvals is a true fes- tival of stallions, not to be missed. Each year a sea of
TOP LEFT: Examples of foals marketed at the last online auction. ABOVE: Judges in the mall arena during the South German stal- lion approval.
SPECIAL RPSI SECTION
Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International
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