A French content creator stopped me at Mondial du Lion, the World Championship for Six- and Seven-Year-Olds, and asked me which I prefer: young horses or established, top-level ones? I didn’t have to think about it for long. “I love,” I told her, “seeing a young horse and falling in love with it and then getting to follow its career when it goes on to travel up the levels.” So many of my favourite horses are ones I fell for early in their careers; I still get a buzz out of seeing Tine Magnus’s incredible Dia Van Het Lichterveld Z, who made me stop in my tracks when I first saw her years ago, and then made me pick up the phone and text Belgian chef d’equipe Kai-Steffen Meier to find out whether there might be a whisper of a chance that the mare might be on the market. (She was not, and wisely so: Tine made her Olympic debut with Dia last year and they remain a formidable partnership for Belgium.)
We’ve been doing these Goresbridge Go For Gold deep-dives long enough now to see our picks step up to the big leagues, too, which is particularly cool: last week at Le Lion, Germany’s Sven Lux piloted former EN Go For Gold wishlist pick MBF Senorita to a smart, swift clear across the country in that very tough seven-year-old class, and it felt particularly special to see how that raw young talent had blossomed into something so serious.
Three years ago, I loved the leggy chestnut MBF PLS Castlecomer Q so much that I let myself into his stable at the sales and considered threatening not to leave him, and now, he’s been given an appropriately steady start to his eventing career considering his colossal height but has debuted quite impressively with Andrew Hoy under his new name, Castlecornet. I think he’ll be a really fun horse to watch, and the Hoys have been warned that I’ll be marching straight over for cuddles at the first event we’re both at.
But the hamster wheel keeps on turning, and there are always new and exciting horses to fall in love with. This year’s Go For Gold sale, which will take place at the Amber Springs Hotel in Co. Wexford on November 12th, has nearly 90 exceptional horses from three to five years old, suiting a variety of careers and riders, and look, I’ve already asked Amex for a higher credit limit and been declined, so I’ve had to commit myself to the art of the window shop.
But you: you could be the person I pester in the lorry park for years to come, because I’m delusional and think I have some ownership of your horse of a lifetime, just because I liked watching it loose jump on the internet. You could have that honour. You could own one of these very, very cool horses.
Let’s get into them, shall we?
[Shop the full catalogue here]
The Goresbridge ‘Go For Gold’ Sale takes place November 10-12 at Barnadown Showjumping (November 10-11) and the Amber Springs Hotel (November 12). In-person shopping provides the opportunity to see the horses for yourself before the sale goes forward, but you can also access more information, FAQs and register to bid online here. The full catalogue can be seen here.
Four-year-old, 16hh gelding. Malcomme P x Mutiezia, by Emir R.
Go For Gold is packed with impressive unbacked or lightly started three-year-olds, but they always have a small and mighty line-up of four- and five-year-olds, too. For some folks, this bit of the catalogue isn’t their jam – they want to make a bid on something totally raw that they can shape themselves. But there’s also a gamble to be made there, and being able to try these slightly more experienced horses in an atmosphere is a huge boon.
With that in mind, my first pick is one you’ll want to pack your boots and hat for. He’s just four, but has already popped solid fences and showjumps, and does so with an ease that I really like. When I’m looking at young ridden horses, I want to see that they’ve been allowed to find their own balance and have been quietly produced without too much interference, so there’s no risk of issues like learned helplessness, one-sidedness, or sourness. With this chap, I see a lot of things I really like: he’s naturally well-balanced, moves forward readily and happily, approaches his work with a smile, and looks naturally bold and also clever enough to know where his feet are and work a thing or two out. Basically, nothing seems difficult to him right now, and that’s a big box ticked for me.
At 16hh, he might not make the shortlist of a tall male professional, but frankly, I kind of like it when we can keep a nice thing away from the boys. It’s good for them to miss out sometimes, and if they bypass Monaco, they’ll be missing out on a lot. I think this is a horse who could do a lot of useful jobs, whether with a pro in the irons or a capable junior. He strikes me as a pony ride adjustability-wise, but with the stride patterns of a horse, and I like the Emir R through his dam mixed with the Comme Il Faut on the sire’s side – it’s no surprise he’s a neat, scopey, capable jumper with a nice attitude.
Four-year-old, 16.2hh gelding. Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Irene d’Ecaussines, by Cardento.
If I’d been judging on photos alone, here’s a confession: I’d have skipped past this gelding completely. I wasn’t taken by his conformation shots, which made him look as though his neck was on upside-down. But that’s a useful reminder to always delve into all the content you’re given because actually, when I watched him jump under saddle, I liked him a lot.
This is a big baby, and right now he’s a bit bum-high and moves like it, but there’s a tonne of potential there and, I think, a seriously nice brain. This is a horse who looks like he really takes life in his stride and doesn’t lend himself to dramatics: sometimes, talented young horses send themselves into orbit until they’ve figured out how to jump fences, and that’s fine, but it can be a lot for anyone other than a seasoned pro to cope with. But this chap is clever and calm, and he reads fences and allocates just the right amount of jump to them – for a horse to understand economising, and when it’s okay, at four is actually quite impressive. I think he’s a smart boy who will be a pleasure to produce, and I hope he finds someone who doesn’t mind taking their time with him while he physically matures.
For the breeding nerds, his granddam is by Papillon Rouge, the damsire of Tom McEwen’s five-star winner Toledo de Kerser. I really like the smart Selle Français lines coming through his damline, because they tend to be brainy, blood horses, and those qualities often shine brightest when they come through the matriarchs of the family lines.
Four-year-old, 16hh gelding. Kaiden Leva WD x Cinderella Girl, by Buster King.
When I make my picks from this stacked catalogue, I’m not necessarily always looking for the horse that I think will be the next big thing. Often, I’m looking for horses that I think will be particularly commercial, or suit a wide variety of riders, and for me, that’s exactly what the petite BC Prince Charming is. Like Lot 11, my first pick, he looks like he rides like a pony in the best way possible – he’s an adjustable, compact, balanced bouncy ball of an athlete, but without the teeny little strides of a pony. His dam, actually, was a top pony showjumper, representing Ireland in Nations Cups and Austria in the European Championships, and Prince Charming wears that heritage right on his sleeve.
Okay, okay, we’ve also got to address it: I didn’t pick him because he’s splashy and colourful, but it doesn’t hurt a jot, does it? When they’re rideable, scopey, find jumping easy, are quick and athletic off the ground, and have this sort of ‘chrome’, you know you’re onto something you could sell a million times over. This could be a lot of people’s horse of a lifetime – I can see him going to the States and making the cover of US Eventing’s magazine after winning the AECs with a very smiley rider on board. In short, he looks fun, fun, fun (and commercial, commercial, commercial!).
LOT 32 – CREEVYQUIN CONTHARGOS
Three-year-old, 16.2hh gelding. Conthargos x Inea VDL, by Tinkas Boy.
So you’re in the market for something a little taller and a little rangier – I hear you. This Conthargos son currently stands 16.2hh but looks a bigger picture than that; it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he finds another inch over the next year.
In any case, he’s a seriously smart-looking, strapping young thing with a tonne of elasticity in his movement that, down the line and with the right production, will turn into points-winning paces. He’s a lovely jumper, too, with an intrinsic understanding of how to use his shoulder and neck to balance himself over a fence and upon landing. It’s clear that there’s scope to burn there, and he’s certainly well-bred for jumping. I’d love to see this one go to a pro who wants to keep him for the long haul, because I reckon he could do some very exciting things.
LOT 44 – HALLSMILL ROCKSTAR MBF
Three-year-old, 16.3hh gelding. Rock N’Roll Ter Putte x Hallsmill Valentine, by Valent.
If you’ve been biding your time waiting for something with a seriously punchy hindend, you’re in luck. This oversized three-year-old is quick and catty behind, with a heaping helping of power and a skyward thrust that won’t be just anybody’s ride, but will make the right pro very, very happy. One thing I really like about this guy is that despite being very tall, he’s also nice and compact through the back, which keeps him adjustable and balanced – two qualities that are very important when you have this much scope.
He’s a bit extra, sure. But if pizazz and joie de vivre and the ability eat up massive fences for breakfast are what you’re after, this is your man. His maternal granddam is a Quick Star daughter and has some successful showjumping progeny on the ground, and his dam is by the stallion Valent, who sired Kentucky winner Cooley Rosalent and four-star horses Jewelent and Govalent. On his sire’s side, he’s got Diamant de Semilly and the excellent Darco, and via Valent, he’s got Papillon Rouge coming through the dam’s side. That’s a lot of scope and a lot of boldness in one horse, and if he turns out to be too careful for eventing, I’d feel fairly confident he could switch to the dark side and showjump well.
Three-year-old, 16hh gelding. SHS Soco Blue x CSF Quality Choice, by OBOS Quality 004.
Zirocco Blue VDL up top and OBOS Quality on the bottom make for an uphill, gutsy little horse who has plenty of jump but, more excitingly, lands so lightly and travels away so easily from it. I love how he uses his shoulder and neck to help him pat the ground and make a big jump something untaxing and undestructive, and I lovehow little he is at 16hh. There’s some nice pure Thoroughbred lines coming through the dam, too, and I think we could see all those different breeding focal points meld together into something very fun. I get the impression that he’s a big character in a little package, and that’s a combination that always really appeals to me.
54 – SIRREL VAN DE TJONGERSHOEVE
Three-year-old, 16.1hh gelding. Carerra VDL x Kully Junior, by Indoctro.
Yeah, yeah, he can jump (boy, can he jump), but Sirrel the Squirrel, which is what I would call him if I bought him, also has another great selling point: he’s already had a rider on his back, stands better for mounting than my seventeen-year-old mare, and very politely walks and trots around the stable block under saddle (also better than my seventeen-year-old mare would be, because she’d be calling every horse she passed some pretty horrendous names while doing so). I also really like that he’s met plenty of cross-country questions already on the lunge, not least because he’s a very careful type, and it’s nice for him to have the chance to figure out his footwork without the risk of a rider being bounced out of the tack or catching him in the mouth. In short: I like the considered production that’s been done here, while still maintaining enough of the raw article to give his buyer a pretty blank canvas to work with.
Three-year-old, 15.3hh filly. Sandro vd Berghoeve x OBOS Nancy Broone, sire unknown.
Nancy is only 15.3hh, but 15.1hh of that is leg. She’s an elegant type who looks much rangier than her sticked height would suggest, and she has the open stride of a much bigger horse, too. This is another horse with a very easy jump and a likeable flow to everything she does. She looks curious and intelligent, and looks like she’s keen to take in the world around her, and I also like that when she slightly misjudges a placing pole while loose-jumping, she quickly sorts her legs out and easily jumps through the line without worrying herself or misdirecting herself.
Her breeding on her dam’s side is a bit of a mystery, with no recorded sire down below, but OBOS Nancy Broone is an interesting broodmare in her own right, with several upper-level progeny already, including Suzanne Hagan’s OBOS Take One, who competed at Boekelo for Ireland earlier this month.
Three-year-old, 16.2hh gelding. Madgeslane Luidam x BLF Indie Air xx, by Jet Away xx.
You can really see the Luidam stamp on this big-shouldered gelding, but it’s a Luidam spritzer thanks to a full-Thoroughbred damline. I really like to see blood down below, which is a sentence that I can’t actually say in public, and there’s some really nice Irish, British, and American Thoroughbred breeding going on there. This looks like the type of horse who’ll cover the ground easily and jumps for fun while doing so – a proper modern classic of a horse, and one that I think will be popular with riders who love a bit of that heart and stamina that’s so unique to Thoroughbred event horses. This is the kind of horse I’d love to have on my yard, which is a statement that’s so emblematic of the fact that I live in a fantasy world in my head in which I can ride one side of a horse like this. Maybe I’ll just live vicariously through someone who can.
Three-year-old, 16.2hh gelding. Cornet Son x Kilquilly Rosie, by Ice Man.
Have you ever looked at Ros Canter’s five-star winner Izilot DHI and thought, ‘man, that horse really has a touch of the brontosaurus about him?’ Yeah, me too, all the time. But equally, what a talented, if admittedly kind of odd horse he is.
My first thought about this chap was also that he has a touch of the brontosaurus about him, but in a slightly different way: his neck attaches to his chest in a very upward way, and because he’s already balanced and uphill, it creates quite a sturdy base for him to be able to keep his forehand afloat while he’s jumping. He’s perhaps slightly unconventional, but I think he’ll become a very, very smart horse who does a super test and jumps tidy rounds, too. Will he be able to learn how to put his head down, open his stride, and really gallop over terrain-y courses? Only time will tell, but if he does, he certainly won’t be the first horse of his stamp to do that. I’d be willing to take a punt.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
This gutsy Tyson son is a lot of horse behind the saddle, but athletic enough that that doesn’t translate as a weak back. He was well-placed at the Burghley Young Event Horse final and would be a very fun horse to keep producing through next year’s class and beyond.
This one reminds me a touch of Joseph Murphy’s CCI5* ride Belline Fighting Spirit. Special mention must go to the stallion a few generations back, Daddy’s Folly, who sired Mummy’s Folly, and I do not know what anyone involved was thinking with those names.
Small, ginger, and with a hindend engine that packs a proper punch.
One for fans of the former Nicola Wilson ride Coolparks Sarco, who was fourth at Pau last year with Piggy March: this chap’s dam is his full sister.
Lot 87 – TULLIBARDS IRISH RUMOR
Another solid shout if you like your horses very tall and very Irish.
Really, it’s the name. And the tail. And the markings.
How EN writes the Go For Gold Wishlist: EN works with Goresbridge Horse Sales to provide advertorial content for the Go For Gold sale. While we were compensated to produce this Wishlist, the selections and honourable mentions are the writer’s alone. Happy shopping!
