Sysonby wrote:You mentioned seeing a lot of crooked horses. I've noticed sometimes sales results look terrible to me on paper but I get a whole different perspective walking around the sales ground looking at the horses being sold. Sometimes I think to myself "$1000? Yeah that's about right." A lot depends on what the sellers are actually offering.
Good points.....
I was heartsick at seeing a Moscow Ballet daughter go out with no bid - but she's a 1993, and not in foal, AND looks to be a hard-luck kind of gal as far as living babies. Have to wonder about hip 185, the Bertrando, 2001 mare - one foal, and left open - a hundred bucks to a Michael Odom of Mead, WA - who was picking up a lot of cheap ones. Hip 174, a 2000 Peterhof mare - two foals by a nuthin stud (who sold in this sale for $1500), and left open, and brought no bid. Just sad..... Is Peterhof still alive at El Dorado?
We went to this sale a couple years ago, and I was real interested to see a certain mare - we'd seen her foals (showing as sporthorses) and I LOVED her bloodlines, so was pretty keen on seeing the old gal - Lovely Lace, a Lear Fan out of a Caro - hot stuff all the way back. Well, she WAS drop dead gorgeous... she was also a certifiable nut case, I don't think that mare stood still for more than 30 seconds the whole dang weekend. Just a tad touchy to handle as well,
I don't remember her bringing much, despite all her wow factor.
So, yes, sometimes the raw stats don't tell the whole story. I'm betting there are a lot of pretty bummed consignors this round, though, it was a rough go.
On the up side, I did note quite a few names buying (admittedly cheap) who were probably brought in by the advertising to the sporthorse folks - horses that might have not sold, or gone to a worse end otherwise. If weather had not been so poor, that might have been a bigger influence. And of course our repro vet spent a cool twenty grand between one mare and one weanling filly, so they upped the average a bit! I am definitely in the wrong business!
