The most-asked question of the past week from journalists and equestrian fans was finally answered on Saturday evening, September 20, during the Flanders Foal Auction at Sentower Park in Belgium:”What will C-Bra van het Bokt bring in?”
The spotted jumping foal became a true social media star and was in worldwide demand, but no one expected the €402,000 result, when a new auction record for jumping foals was set.
Auction organizers Luk Van Puymbroek and Gerald Lenaerts had to get used to all the media attention and camera crews that came to the auction venue. Because of his special coat and excellent jumping bloodlines, C-Bra’s videos had already been played 2.7 million times online. National media from the Netherlands and Belgium visited breeder Steven Dhondt at home and on auction day, microphones were again pointed at him.
At the moment of his entrance into the auction arena, more than a thousand people had activated their online bidding button. The phone lines were so busy that friends of Flanders Foal Auction had to step in to pass on bids. Germany and the US held out for a long time, but the true finale was between another German bidder on the phone and an Olympic rider from the Emirates online. The undisclosed Arab bidder won.
Consignor Steven Dhondt from Pelt, Belgium, was embraced by his son and flooded with congratulations. “This is the ultimate. I’m usually pretty cool, but this really gets to me,” he said, sweat drops on his forehead. “This is the ultimate; very few people will experience something like this. All the hype beforehand, too. Secretly, I had hoped C-Bra would bring between €100,000 and €200,000, but €402,000, I would never have dared to dream of that.
“I’m a veterinarian and breed about ten foals a year. Not even to put them into auctions – I want to breed sport horses and I have several horses aged four to six in sport. But when I have something truly special, I don’t hesitate to present it at the Flanders Foal Auction. Earlier this year, one of mine sold for €16,000. So the average is good!” he joked.
C-Bra van het Bokt Z, sired by the Appaloosa showjumping stallion J-Nius V.V. Z, came into Steven Dhondt’s hands even before birth. “I had done the pregnancy management for the dam and was able to take over the recipient mare with the embryo,” he explains. The dam, Come and Get Me VK Z (Conthargos x Clinton), is no stranger to the Flanders Foal Auction, as she was auctioned there four years ago for €48,000. She is out of Anoeska van de Ruitershoeve, dam of seven grand prix horses at the 1.50m to 1.60m level, making her one of the best broodmares in the world.
The overall average price of the 39 foals sold was €32,179. They were sold to 17 different countries: 19 on site, four by telephone and 16 online. It was nearly half past midnight when the last foal was sold and still 422 people were online with their fingers on the bidding button.
In total, nine foals fetched more than €30,000 apiece. The second most expensive, at €42,000, was Espacito KCX Berghoeve Z (Emerald x Nabab de Rêve) out of the 1.50m show jumping mare Kirby de Muze and grandson of the 1.60m grand prix mare Heroine de Muze.
With this sale, the Flanders foal season ended, but the auction year is not yet over. Flanders Foal Auction returns on November 1 with an embryo auction in Samorin, Slovakia. All information will be available at that time here.
~ with files from Wendy Scholten PR & Marketing
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