Auctions Neumünster 2005

In 2004, a new model of auctions was presented and is was widely accepted that it was the best ever: mares and stallions were divided on two days, which took out a lot of strain for the horses and spectators. So from 2004 on, on each saturday afternoon, elite mares and foals are sold, while the stallions and riding horses go on sunday. And here a few of the facts:

For the approved stallions, the overall result was rather disillusioning. Apart from the exceptional price for the champion and one more colt with a price over 100,000 Euro, most of the approved stallions sold in the range of 20-30,000 Euro. And that simply shows that maybe after all, this year's crop was more of a "gelding" crop (without downplaying their great athleticism). The story of the day of course is the champion Herzensdieb. He was bred by Gestüt Panker in Holstein. According to breed director Lars Gehrmann's official commentary, "he didn't move, he danced". His pedigree is of particular interest, not so much because of his sire, but more because of the fact that two incredible mare lines are crossed here. The old Tapete and Herbstgold lines clearly stamped this breathtakingly beautiful stallion in his noble appearence, his manners and overall quality. The incredible elite mare Tilsit III by Herzbube appears twice through the sire's dam Tänzerin, and the dam's sire Tivano. Tilsit III had three approved sons: EH Tenor, EH Tivano and EH Tuareg. Her daughter ES Tänzerin V by EH Consul produced three approved stallions herself: Tambour, his full brother Thalys (both by EH Hohenstein) and the bay Travell (by Abisko). In addition, Tilsit's dam was the direct Totilas-daughter Tip-Top, herself dam of the elite stallion Tipperay, one of the breed's most successful dressage sires with offspring competing at Grand Prix levels. Rounding off this "who is who", the sport horse sire Tipparillo comes from the same close maternal link. Herzensdieb sold at auction for 275.000 Euro to Douglas and Luise Leatherdale of Leatherdale Farms in the US. He will, however, remain to stand at stud in Germany. He will be stationed at the pure Hanoverian Jens Meyer Stallion station in Dorum, where the Leatherdales also keep their other famous stallion: the part Trakehner and former Hanoverian approval champion His Highness. Herzensdieb officially took over the "highest price ever" slot for an approved stallion, from Kennedy by EH Michelangelo in 1991, who sold for 400,000 DM (not Euro) to a syndicate. Obviously, the athmosphere in the Holstenhallen during this event was an inch away from pure explosion and when the sale was final, the crowds were on their feet cheering to Ludwig van Beethoven's "Freude schöner Götterfunken" from his amazing 9th Symphony. Hard to capture that scene in words! Congratulations to the Leatherdales and the best wishes for a bright future for Herzensdieb.

The Reserve Champion Imperio by Connery, bred by the Keunicke family, who also bred the ATA's Inamorato, sold at auction for 120.,00 Euro to the Bavarian State Stud in Schwaiganger in partnership with Hubertus Poll of Hörem. This is Bavaria's second prominent acquisition in Neumünster, after the 2003 champion stallion In Flagranti. Gestüt Webelsgrund held the bit up to 100,000 Euro on this noble and exceptionally moving stallion, who offers some fresh blood through his dam and was very positively marked by his TB ancestors. Official comments included "great model with long lines, displaying clear and dry texture. Excellent movement, always over his back and in balance, great performance potential".

The next two most expensive stallions were the premiums Union Jack by EH Louidor and Mon Baron by EH Münchhausen TSF. Both sold for 50,000 Euro. Union Jack's official comments included "excellent top line, big joints and effortless movement". The public opinion on him was very dissonant. While some saw an old type model in him that would please dressage riders with comfortable size and good balance, others thought he was too mature and overfed and had little to offer in terms of modern riding horse aspects. The future will tell, in any case, this product of the Dörfler farm in Bavaria, owned and shown by Hämelschenburg Stud in Emmerthal, was sold to the Frankfurt based professional dressage stable Waldfried, where he will clearly be trained as a dressage horse in the future. Mon Baron grew on most people over the 4 days in Neumünster. While old-fashined in his type (very masculine), with a flat croup and very steep hind end, he was one of the best canter horses in Neumünster and comes from an outstanding mare line. His official comments included "always in balance, got better from day to day, consolidation type". Mon Baron was sold to the Trakehner Stud Eicke in NRW, who already stand the stallions Chateauneuf and Offenbach.

The best jumper of the days in Neumünster, who scored a flat 10 for his performance, was Hirtentanz. Hirtentanz comes from the Herzchen family of the Herbstgold origin and shares clostest relations with EH Herzruf, Hibiskus, Heinrich der Löwe, Hirtenruf, and Hölderlin. This family is one of the most versatile in the breed, producing good jumpers and good dressage horses alike. Hirtentanz remains with his breeders, the von Schöning family in Dannau. His free jumping was described as "unlimited potential, excellent thrust, power and technique". He received his premium due to his free jumping performance. In early 2006, Hirtentanz was sold to David Beattie of Watertown, WI, USA, but is to remain at stud in Germany.

Out of the lot of approved stallions without a premium, the colt with the highest TB percentage was Canzler by Amatcho. He is the first approved son of Amatcho in the breed and had many friends in Neumünster. He too, was sold to the dressage stable Waldfried in Frankfurt, for 32,000 Euro. Comments included "excellent temperament, long lines, movement always over the back". Occacio is the first approved son of Hörstein's charming bay Cadeau and came from a very dressage-successful mare family. He sold at auction for 20,000 Euro to Jan Murmann in Hamburg and will be stationed at Stall Krotenbach in Holstein. His comments included "excellent impulsion, grows bigger with each step, lovely type". However, his foundation was marked on as being "borderline" with rather constricted heels. Next in line was Elfenfeuer by Connery, out of the dam of the champion stallion Elfengeist and bred by Hans-Joachim Scharfetter. The chestnut colt had many friends in Neumünster this year, maybe a stallion who "needed a second look", but who stood out with the best walk of the crop and very high quality gaits, always over a supple back, and with great suspension. The breed director also commented on his excellent foundation. Elfenfeuer sold at auction for 35,000 Euro to Hamburg as a dressage horse and was gekded soon after. Donauzauber by Distelzar was sold to Northrhine-Westfalia for 30,000 Euro and was praised for his "excellent versatile talents". He appeared to be a bit long in his back, and could have shown more overall harmony. The stallion out of the successful Klosterhof Medingen breeding program remains at stud in Medingen. Easy Game was a big controversy. While his basic quality was appealing, specially in his movement, the stallion had very obvious temperament issues going on, which cumulated in him attacking another stallion during the final walk rounds. From day one, commentators referred to him being very hormonal and all over the place, so the big question will be how he copes with work under saddle in the future. The commission commented on "his excellent top line, good breeding and balanced trot, while his walk was not free of tension". Grande Couleur by Indian Boy, the pinto in the collection, was praiseed for his outstanding athleticism and marked as " the best pinto we have seen in Neumünster so far, with good trot mechanics and a phenomenal walk". The stallion sold at auction for 26,000 Euro to the Holstein-based Gestüt Floggensee. Next was Hidalgo by King Arthur TSF, who came from a spectacular mare line and was praised for his "mascule and very athletic appearance, his great impulsion and the well-developed top line". Hidalgo, who was briefly up for the "champion" spot after an excellent hard surface performance, was sold for 26,000 Euro to the State Stud Moritzburg in East Germany. Another approved King Arthur son was Schneeball, whose dam Schneeflocke is one of the breed's most prominent mares at the time. She is the most expensive mare ever sold in NMS (140,000DM) and has produced a number of excellent offspring for her home stud, Gestüt Tasdorf. Schneeball impressed with "an excellent jump and an outstanding, correct foundation, his lovely type and the supple movement over his back". Schneeball was sold to the small private stud Burg Greifenstein in Hessia, a farm that has quietly collected some of the breed's most interesting mares over the past few years and will most likely provide a great basis for the future of Schneeball. The stallion will be leased to a Belgium farm for most of 2006, where he will also be prepared for his performance career. Finally, the last approved stallion of the crop was Herzog, another Tambour son, who according to the breed director "had gone through a tremendous growth spur since we selected him in August, who clearly improved over the 4 days in Neumünster, displayed an excellent jump and has good overall conformation".

The auction of non approved colts was very close to last year's, although with a slighly lower average achieved (9,750 Euro this year as opposed to 10,806 Euro last year). Several experienced and very successful riders were seen througout the ring and bought young colts that had already been selected for their good quality, so it will be interesting to see what these youngsters will turn into. The highest priced colt was Elfenrat by Hofrat, who sold for 14,000 Euro to Lower Saxony. Several colts were sold to other Nations and again, Darren Chiacchia, the US Olympic Bronze Medalist from Athens, who already picked up two colts at the 2004 approvals, bought two great prospects for his Independence Farm. Isengart by Lauries Crusador xx and Dibelius by EH Michelangelo are currently waiting for their flight to the US. Also, Sir Arthur by Buddenbrock was sold to the US. Garde du Corps went to France, while Polarfischer, Bon Prix, Isle of Man, Ares and Helios were sold to Great Britain. Darolino was sold to the Netherlands, and Giordano ended up in Belgium. He was invited back for approval after his 30 day test.

The mare auction went well overall, considering that there were not too many "high price" horses compared to last year. The overall average was a bit lower too. While the 2004 mare collection went for an average of 15,625 Euro, this year's crop brought 13,718 Euro. Like last year, this year's top seller went for 30,000 Euro. This top price was achieved by PS Aida by EH Sixtus, who was sold to Great Britain. Second was the movement-wonder PS+SPS Skylight by EH Napoleon Quatre, who sold for 23,000 Euro to Northrhine-Westfalia. The third highest priced mare was Bavaria's former Champion mare Olivia by Solero TSF, who sold for 21,000 Euro to Spain. Another mare went to Spain, Co Co Chanell, the current champion mare from Rhineland-Palatinate. Other foreign buyers came from The Netherlands (Karenina for 8,000 Euro), Luxemburg (In Vita, 16,000 Euro), and Great Britain (PS+SPS Funny Hill for 11,000 Euro, PS+SPS Rendezvous for 13,000 Euro and PS+SPS Kolumbina for 13,500 Euro).

The foal auction was a bit better than last year's, with two big sales that clearly raised the overall average. Foals at the fall auctions usually have a very hard time due to their weird growth stages at that point in time. The Verband would probably be better off to cancel the fall auction all together and concentrate on two major foal auctions during spring and summer. In any case, the top seller was the black colt Kronprinz by EH Hohenstein, who sold for 20,000 Euro to Lower Saxony. He was followed by the filly Katina by Grafenstolz TSF, who was sold for 15,000 Euro to Bavaria. The pinto colt El Nino by Hibiskus (9,000 Euro), the filly Brilliante by Buddenbrock (8,000 Euro) and the colt Hillbilly by Kostolany (8,000 Euro) were the follow ups and marked the highest prices this year. An average of 7,333 Euro was achieved, a plus of roughly 2,000 Euros in comparison to last year.

Cat #	Name	Pedigree	Price (Euro)	Sold to
51	Herzensdieb	Tambour x EH Tivano	275,000	Leatherdale Farms, USA
15	Imperio	Connery x Balfour xx	120,000	Bavarian State Stud + Hörem
6	Hirtentanz	Axis x Kostolany	not for sale	Veronika von Schöning, Dannau
41	Union Jack	EH Louidor x EH Bartholdy	50,000	Gestüt Waldfried, Hessia
45	Mon Baron	EH Münchhausen TSF x EH Herzruf	50,000	Gestüt Eicke, Rhineland
5	Canzler	Amatcho x EH Consul	32,000	Gestüt Waldfried, Hessia
6	Occacio	Cadeau x EH Angard	20,000	Jan Murmann, Hamburg

16	Elfenfeuer	Connery x Guter Stern	35,000	Hamburg
18	Donauzauber	Distelzar x EH Sokrates	30,000	Northrhine-Westfalia
21	Easy Game	EH Gribaldi x Schwadroneur	not for sale	van Uytert (NL) and Gestüt Tasdorf
30	Grande Couleur	Indian Boy x Uckermärker	26,000	Gestüt Floggensee, Holstein
36	Hidalgo	King Arthur TSF x Matador	26,000	State Stud Moritzburg
37	Sir Arthur	King Arthur TSF x EH Michelangelo	21,000	Gestüt Burg Greifenstein, Hessia
52	Herzog	Tambour x Inkognito	not for sale	Gestüt Elmarshausen, Hessia

Cat #	Name	Pedigree	Price (Euro)	Sold to
1	Syrakus	Lando xx x EH Caprimond		withdrawn
2	Isengart	Lauries Crusador xx x Parforce	9,700	Independence Farm, NY, USA
4	Garde du Crops	Uckermärker x Upan la Jarthe AA	7,000	France
5	Schützenkönig	Hertug x Presto xx		not for sale
7	Sir Arthur	Buddenbrock x EH Consul	8,500	USA
8	Gawein	Buddenbrock x Guter Planet	7,000
9	Shannon Pride	Cadeau x Pry xx		not for sale
11	Coulonius	Cadeau x Guter Planet		withdrawn
12	Il Krotenbach	Cadeau x Schampus		not for sale
13	Lennox	EH Caprimond x EH Sokrates	13,000
14	Emotion	Connery x EH Benz	12,000
17	Herzog von Nassau	Distelzar x Fahnenträger II	not for sale	premiminarily not approved!
19	Polarfischer	Donaufischer x EH Caprimond	13,000	UK
20	Bon Prix	EH Gribaldi x EH Tivano	9,000	UK
22	Horatius	EH Gribaldi x EH Tivano		not for sale
23	Churchill	Heartbreaker x Santiago		withdrawn
24	Supreme Court	EH Herzruf x Königspark xx		withdrawn
25	Elfenrat	Hofrat x Buddenbrock	14,000	Lower-Saxony
26	Heidekönig	EH Hohenstein x EH Tuareg	10,000
27	Isle of Man	Houston x EH Herzruf	9,000	UK
28	Giordano	In Petto x Camelot	10,500	preliminarily not approved! Belgium
29	Agnelli	In Petto x EH Michelangelo	10,500
31	Higgins	Induc x Arthus	10,000
32	Hunssrück	K2 x EH Louidor	6,000
33	Polartanz	K2 x Kostlolany		not for sale
34	Blue Velvet	Key West x Eichendorff		not for sale
35	Donauschnee	Key West x Almox Prints J		not for sale
38	Oscar	King Arthur TSF x Ivernel	8,000
39	Donaugraf	Kostolany x Pernambuco	13,000
40	Darolino	Lamarc x Black Magic Boy	8,500	The Netherlands
42	Flavio Go	EH Maizauber x Alpenkönig		withdrawn
43	Flatow	EH Maizauber x Vollkorn xx	13,000
44	Dibelius	EH Michelangelo x EH Bartholdy	9,500	Independence Farm, NY, USA
46	Imperium	Schiffon x Kostlany		withdrawn
47	Painted Snow	Schneesturm TSF x Cenzus		withdrawn
48	Ares	EH Sixtus x EH Angard	9,500	UK
49	Helios	Solero TSF x EH Caprimond	6,000	UK
50	Himmelsrand	Summertime x Kostolany	6,000
53	Karos	Tolstoi x EH Arogno		withdrawn
54	Ice Age	EH Tuareg x Zauberklang	11,000

Editor's note: Herzog von Nassau, who was preliminarily not approved, was approved in early 2006. Independence Farm later also bought 9 Shannon Pride.