New Zealand’s sport horse auction system is coming of age at EQUITANA Auckland, according to Equine Productions New Zealand chief executive Rod Lockwood.
He and his team are hosting the inaugural New Zealand Warmblood Association (NZWA) Performance Horse Auction at the November event and it’s already garnering interest from buyers in China and Australia as well as New Zealand.
“Performance and sport horse auctions have not traditionally been a preferred method of selling in New Zealand,” says Rod, “but as the market grows and the outstanding international reputation of New Zealand-bred horses becomes more broadly known, the auction system is coming of age.”
EQUITANA Auckland have aligned with the NZWA to ensure the very best of proven bloodlines are in the auction. Offshore, auctions are the preferred method of sale. “It is an efficient way of bringing buyers to a marketplace under the pressure of time and also delivers an economy for a marketing campaign. We will be offering a fabulous selection of well-bred horses.”
Breaking Ground with First Auction at Equitana Auckland
Performance horse auctions are nothing new to this team who have successfully run them at EQUITANA Melbourne. “We know this will be an exciting inclusion to our Auckland programme. The fabulous 100% Pure campaign the New Zealand Government conducts has traction for performance horses as well, so we expect international buyers to come to Auckland to view and purchase the exceptional quality of New Zealand warmbloods that will be offered.”
The auction will include young stock right through to fully produced elite performance horses and is scheduled as part of the EQUITANA’s Jumping Day on Saturday (November 23), getting underway at 3pm in the Hansen Products Indoor Arena. It will be accessible to all EQUITANA Auckland visitors.
NZWA representative Jody Hartstone is very excited about the pending auction. “I think auctions like these could be very important to New Zealand,” says Jody. While auctions haven’t historically been a big part of the New Zealand sport horse scene, she thinks once foreign buyers start heading Down Under for the auctions, Kiwis will become more confident in the process.
“What makes this auction is so unique is that most of these horses have been pre-assessed – not only are they fully registered with proven pedigrees and DNA testing as required, but a lot will have been through the (warmblood) classification process too,” says Jody. “They will have had a top German expert look at them to assess their conformation and movement, and those scores will be available, so you aren’t going in blind as a purchaser.
Submit Your Horse for the Equitana Auckland Auction
“The horses are hand-picked by the staff at EQUITANA, the NZWA and a couple of experts in the sport horse field, so we will be only allowing the best quality into the auction.”
Bidders and spectators can expect to see high-quality young horses across the disciplines – all with proven bloodlines and verified pedigrees. All the horses have papers and will be microchipped, with most also carrying international passports. “It is a great way to get into one place and see a number of horses where you can look at them beforehand, compare them and hopefully buy a fantastic horse. It is going to be a great day.”
For more information about the auction or to submit a horse for consideration for the auction contact eventservices@equineproductions.co.nz.
