Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) is offering a €25,000 (£21,800) bonus to the purchaser of any horse, bought at the event horse sale at Co Wexford next week, that goes on to win an Olympic, world or European gold medal or a CCI****.
Staged by Goresbridge Horse Sales and Monart Equestrian, the sale takes place in Enniscorthy on Thursday, 11 November.
“Ireland is the place to buy top-class event horses,” said HSI chairman Joe Walsh.
“Two Irish-bred horses have won four-star competitions this year — Tankers Town at Luhmühlen and Lenamore at Burghley — and many competed at the World Equestrian Games.”
The bonus will be paid to the buyer of the horse at this sale, regardless of who owns it at the time it wins the competition.
Buyers coming from the USA can claim up to €800 (£670) towards flights if they spend €5,000 (£4,353) at the sale.
Incentives are becoming more common in elite horse sales, as vendors try to attract buyers during the recession.
Brightwells and Dressage Horse International offer a £10,000 prize to the winner of a competition for four- and five-year-old horses sold at their sales the previous year.
And in racing, the Millions Races comprises eight races worth £1,750,000 that are exclusively for yearlings purchased at the Tattersalls October yearling sale.
The Irish event horse sale offers 65 lots — 60 from four regional centres around Ireland and five wild-card entries.
Martin Donohoe of Goresbridge said: “This select sale is a new concept for Ireland and the horses are predominantly traditionally Irish-bred, which is what international buyers are looking for.”
Visit: www.irishhorse.com or www.monartequestrian.com
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (4 November, ’10)
