Last night, Dutch Sport Horse Sales hosted a record-breaking auction of their own stock as well as other Dutch prospects from around Europe, and the top horse went for an incredible sum of €400,000 (That translates to around $470,000 as of 9/27/17).
Goliath, a six-year-old gray gelding (Bustique x Coriano), was bred and raised by auction organizer Paul Hendrixwas and purchased by Ashford Farm in Belgium.
The gelding has been under the tutelage of Dutch show jumper Nicole Mestrom, and was qualified for the national championships.
“We have been working hard to get the best horses in this auction, and we already had proved it in the national championships in Ermelo. But besides very good horses, you also need the right people to invest in them, to make an auction successful. Luckily there was a lot of trust in the horses and our concept.”
Ashford Farm would certainly fall into the category of “right people.” The multi-million dollar facility in northern Belgium has a top track record of turning out world-class horses, with endorsements from McLain Ward, Bertram Allen, Lauren Hough, and the Beerbaum family.
He’ll now go into the next shuffle of the elite horse’s life – more intense training toward FEI classes and filling out his experience card to prepare him for finding a globally ranked rider who can harness his potential in his physical peak: generally between 9-13 years old.
At just six years old now, it may be awhile before we see Goliath hit the big time, but we’ll certainly be on the lookout when he gets there.
You can learn more about Dutch Sport Horse Auction here.
Go Jumping.