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Topic: TK Select Sale & Auction (Read 8084 times)
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TwinGates
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Performance Matters!
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I'm flying in Friday for the sale (www.kdjumpers.com), and know Kari & John Cassel are already there. Who else is going?
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SteveSamples
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I love Trakehners!
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I'm jealous. The list looks incredible. What KD is doing for jumping TKs is fabulous. They're going to put us on the board in American hunter/jumper... our rightful place.
Blessings,
Steve +
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Tannenwald Trakehner
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TANZBRISE by Windfall out of Tariana
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I will be stopping in at David's on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing the sale horses and David's herd in general.
Kim, do you have a horse in the sale?
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TwinGates
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Hi Ingrid,
Yes, I have one of the riding horses, Robijn (added late, so he's not in catalog, but on the website gallery, a 1/2 TK by E.H. Gribaldi.
I know Shawnda and Brad will be there, and heard Mae Jean's coming, too. Steve, if you see anything you like, you can always arrange to bid by phone (rules in catalog). There are some wonderful mares & foals for sale!
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sixpoundfarm
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I LOVE Trakehners!
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I think I may try to go.
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Shawnda
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Shawnda will not be there. I have guests from Germany for the week, and they are not horsey people, so in all fairness, it would not be nice to drag them along to an auction sale with me.
But I really did want to attend just so I could help David out. 
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TwinGates
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If Ingrid's ok w/posting results, I know Kari and Kelly (Gulick) both have their laptops, so it's certianly possible.
Interestingly, the multi-magazine promotional blitz has drawn attention from people outside the usual TK circles . . . for example, Helmut! (I'm determined he'll become an ATA member!) Although he's 100-day test director and breeds ISR/Oldenburgs, he'll admit (when no one's around) his best jumpers have been full or part-TK (Advocate, Taz and La Cinderina a grey mare by Abdullah).
So, of course I sent him a catalog with a "cheat sheet" pointing out the jumper bloodlines in several of the mares and foals in this auction!
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helloagain
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I LOVE Trakehners!
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Chez Risette Farm posted on eWarmbloods:
Quote. One of my clients bought a coming two year old filly by Stilleto out of a Butow mare (Her dam is David's highest scoring mare). She said she is a gorgeous mahagony bay with wonderful gaits, and is extremely sweet.
She paid $2500! I'm thrilled for her
According to her the auction went very well. Some very good horses sold for some very good prices. End Quote
I'd say that was a very good price for the buyer.
Also, per Sixpoundfarm on eWarmbloods, Kosmisch and Fionna were the 2 horses not sold because their reserve was not reached.
It's my opinion that Americans look at auctions in a totally different way than Europeans do. To an American, an auction equals a bargain.
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TwinGates
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Just back from the sale and it was so well run and organized, the horses were beautifully presented (in hand by Ken Borden, Jr.) and ridden by Sylvia Geyer & Kelly Ruiz (and Diane Haley did a lovely job w/her mare, too).
Some answers to a few questions, corrections to pricing and overall thoughts:
1. The average price for weanlings/yearlings was $4,000
2. High price mare was $13,500 (Ken Borden bought her)
3. High price riding horse SOLD (important distinction) was a coming 17 yo. gelding @ $17,500.
4. High price weanling/yearling was $8,000
5. My 9yo. KWPN gelding (Robijn) by Gribaldi was one of the horses receiving no bid (see my notes on prospects below)
With the exception of about 6 horses, all were owned or bred by KD Trakehners, so while not a "dispersal sale", the bloodlines skewed heavily to dressage (KD's emphasis now is obviously on jumpers) and with over 20 horses consigned, they gave some buyers great deals on high-quality horses.
The crowds greatest interest was in mares and prospects. The "deals" seemed to be yearlings, 3 & 4 yo's (or in my case, a 9 yo.) with no proven performance records. Those w/o "reserves"were of interest; those w/reserves or ineligible for full registration (auction low price) were not.
That being said, buyers were willing to pay for performance. The $17,500 was a great price for a 16 yo. trained between 2nd and 3rd, and the Cassel's Kosmisch - a 6 yo. with an enviable performance record elicited a spirited bidding war. Though the final bid was short of his reserve, it would far & away eclipsed any of the other prices (Kari can share more if she wants).
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Tannenwald Trakehner
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TANZBRISE by Windfall out of Tariana
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Hey Kim, glad to hear you made it home! It was good to see you again and hang out with some of the Trakehner crowd. I am sitting way up here in Iron Mountain, MI with another couple days to go on our color tour "trip around the Lake [Michigan]."
The auction WAS organized and run exceptionally well. The auctioneers and staff were outstanding and gave informed and enthusiastic presentations of the horses for sale. Having professional handlers and riders really helped the horses to be seen at their best.
Despite the quality of the photos in the auction catalog and online, many of the horses appeared to be much nicer "in person." I think a riding horse that sold to a telephone bidder for $10,500 could have gone much higher had people been able to really see him go in advance of the sale and might have made plans to come.
The high-price mare was SO much nicer than she appeared in the photo, and Ken Borden was lucky to claim her at such a reasonable price (as well as the 2, 3, 4 other horses he purchased? When one of the nation's top sport horse breeders picks up a small herd of breeding stock at a single sale, that speaks to the overall quality offered).
I believe that the two aged broodmares, one open, each sold for $4,000? While their quality was very good, people who have been watching the market for older broodies (or who have acquired any recently for free or little money) know that isn't too bad for buyer or seller.
While both were "no saled," Kosmisch had a hefty bid, and Diane's 3YO mare just started under saddle horse had a considerable bid as well.
Of course, attendance could have been much stronger. The location, structure and organization of the sale could have supported a much higher number of bidders and horses. Considering that this auction received fairly short-terrm and limited publicity--a few print ads, mailed catalogs to the list of ATA members, and the catalog published on a web site that was too new to have achieved much in terms of search engine rankings and needed to rely on referral links to be seen, it didn't go so badly. I don't know for sure, but I believe that something like 100 people registered to bid. Buyers had come from fair distances to take a shot at bringing these horses home. Several will be making their way down to Florida.
Given the "auction mentality" in the U.S., this was a bold marketing move that brought significantly better results than some may have expected. KD Trakehners' objective--to quickly reduce the numbers of animals on the farm and give the owners greater freedom to pursue their tightly targeted breeding goals--was certainly achieved. I appreciate the effort of KD (and the outside owners who consigned) and the "by product" of their effort: In being "guinea pigs" for the holding of a breed-restricted private select sale of sport horses, they set an example of how future Trakehner auctions may be conducted.
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« Last Edit: October 08, 2007, 08:54:28 AM by Tannenwald Trakehner »
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TwinGates
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I hope that the lowly price of $2500 is not taken as a fair price for a warmblood and/or Trakehner yearling.
Suspect that it was not since a weanling Kostolany colt sold for $8,000. The avg. of $4,000 for weanlings/yearlings, was close to the COTH discussion point, and based on the quality & breeding of the youngsters sold IMO ALL buyers got bargains!
I second Ingrid's comment about how much better many of these looked in person - a couple I thought were "ok, but nothing special" in the catalog really opened my eyes when I saw them under saddle.
If there's significant interest in doing another auction next year, I think online video clips will make a HUGE difference (both in # of bidders physically at the auction and those who register to bid by phone). Had people seen the movement on some of these horses, would have been a whole other ball game.
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« Last Edit: October 08, 2007, 01:09:37 PM by TwinGates »
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helloagain
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Do you think this was in any way an education for the American horse buyer? Good or bad? I really feel for the owners of these quality horses. I know Nannie was listed on the ATA sales web site for $25,000 which I thought was a little overpriced, but I imagine she went for less than she was worth. If KD Trakehners just wanted to unload a bunch of dressage-type horses, they sure met their goal on that one. I guess they are satisfied from that point of view.
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Alicia
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I should add that Claudia's Cardinal....a full sister to Connery was lot #53 in the Elite Warmblood Sale and went for $13000. I don't know if she was bought back or not.
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TwinGates
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I think we have to get past the mentality of NA auctions being prime hunting grounds for bargain basement prices.
No question, but there are several way this can change
1. Improve the quality of horses available @ auctions
2. Show your horses (the $$'s were there for the rarer bloodlines and confirmed performance horses).
3. Improved buying power for the USD - already happening, I'm not going to pay 1.41 USD to Euros. I can buy more here, and will if there's another sale w/horses of this quality next year.
If the goal were to have the image increased, then the horses should "no sale" rather than sell this low.
Understand the sentiment Suzette, but hard to do on an inaugural auction. Had all horses passed out as "no sale", do you think anyone would return next year? Not likely.
I understand the need to sometimes have a clearance sale like this, and that's what people expect when attending one of these. But it just reinforces the image.
Again, I disagree. I guarantee Ken Borden will be there next year w/a shopping list (for him and his clients) based on what he saw this weekend (and since he paid $13,500 for a mare, he wasn't "clearance sale" shopping). Moreover, Helmut called last night to ask about several horses he liked from the catalog. Without the 100-day test to keep him out of state next year, I promise you he'll be there as well. That's 2 non-TK breeders coming to a Trakehner Select Sale!
Do we all wish the prices had been higher - of course! But there's a lot of 'hand-wringing' going on over what was just created: a venue for TK breeders to showcase & sell (or not - put a reserve on 'em) our horses. The threads on COTH show that low sales prices is not a problem unique to TK breeders.
The fact that the ATA has a member who took on the expense of creating a NEW way to sell our horses is something to be excited about. I hope he never decides to go to another breed organization - I'd be pissed if this sales event had been created only for HOL breeders!
Thanks David, Kevin & the entire KD Trakehners staff! 
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Oakstable
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Was this intended as a Trakehner only event (with a couple of Dutch if owned by a Trak person)? I think adding Dutch is a good thing. Or any other of the major breeds in the top standings of the WB Federation. There are people who think they do not like Trakehners but might be surprised when they come to look for a Dutch or other breed and find the Trakehner is exactly what they are looking for.
Look at the comparative prices of Dutch or Hano with Traks in the warmbloods-for-sale list. That said, breeders need to deal with what is, not what they would like to see. In general, Traks sell for a lower price here and in Germany, with some very notable exceptions, thanks to Doug and Louise Leatherdale.
Since many of us have no accurate sense of the market right now, any feedback on pricing is appreciated, even if it is lower than what we'd wish.
Maybe a select sale needs to have a threshold for an opening price, say, $4,000 for a weanling. I sure would not be happy with that price, below costs to create, but for the sake of conversation, the figure is fine.
Since KD Trakehner's intent was to sell the dressage lines so they could concentrate on the jumper lines, are they thinking of doing another auction?
Actually, I applaud them for bravely taking a business stand on their herd, and apparently deciding not to throw good money after bad if the horses were not in the discipline they wanted. Many of us make emotional decisions about our horses (just ask any non-horsey spouse) and we can hang onto a horse waiting for the wished-for price.
We don't know when the dollar is going to get back on its feet against the Euro so NA breeders need to be smart about using the opportunity to market our stock without losing the proverbial shirt.
IMO, dispersal sales are about closing shop.
I hate to see those, as I know the vultures are out and the owners' hearts are breaking.
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Proud owner of Trakehner mares Lucy and Summer.
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