Photo by Erin Gilmore Photography (taken pre-COVID).
Horse shoppers this season find themselves with a myriad of options for selecting their next horse; perhaps a silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic is the addition of some virtual auction formats that allow for distance bidding. This year’s edition of the Goresbridge ‘Go for Gold’ Select Event Horse Sale in Ireland has done just that, creating a hybrid sale model that will allow for bidding to take place remotely.
The ability to pivot is the name of the game in 2020 and the hardworking Goresbridge team, which typically leaves no stone unturned when it comes to presenting these top-caliber horses to prospective buyers, has outdone themselves with more options for remote buyers and an extensive online catalog.
This year’s Goresbridge auction will be open for potential buyers to view and bid on horses in person, but the team has also introduced online and phone bidding this year. If you haven’t experienced an auction yet, this year may just be the year to do it! You can view more details on this year’s Goresbridge sale here. The selection process for these horses is no easy task – we detailed the background of this sale and the selection process in this article last year.
Lot 3, an unnamed half-brother to Trendy Fernhill.
Looking to the catalog, there are a total of 66 horses presented, the majority of which are 3-year-olds. A mix of 42 3-year-olds, 21 4-year-olds, 1 5-year-old, and 2 6-year-old horses are available for viewing. How does the catalog break down?
Several reputable eventing sires are well-represented this year. OBOS Quality (Quick Star x Reischdame, by Domino) has the most in the catalog with six horses, followed by Ramiro B (Calvani x Lilly, by Wendekreis) and Emperor Augustus (Fusaichi Pegasus x Hishi Nile, by A.P. Indy), who each have five of their progeny in the catalog.
Featuring among the prospects for sale this year are a half-brother to Jenny Caras’ Tryon CCI4*S winner Trendy Fernhill, owned by Elyse Eisenberg as well as several with relation to top horses such as Ashdale Cruise Master (Oliver Townend), November Night (Ciaran Glenn), OBOS O’Reilly (Will Coleman), Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend), Ringwood Sky Boy (Tim Price), and Cooley Stormwater (Liz Halliday-Sharp) – and many more.
Each lot for sale this year has a full pedigree, conformation photos, and performance videos available in the user-friendly online portal. You must register to place a bid online or by phone. Bidding starts at €3,000.00 for each horse and the auction will run Monday, December 7 and Tuesday, December 8.
