With a top price of 74,000 euros and an average price of 27,760 euros, the Flanders Foal Auction on Saturday night, July 27, marked the best auction of the year so far. Germany warmly embraced the jumping foals from the strict Flanders selection. Champagne was regularly popped at Holger Hetzel’s facility in Goch, and the atmosphere was festive.
This was the third consecutive Flanders Foal Auction held during Holger Hetzel’s event. The German horseman and his team are visibly building an increasingly impressive event with an equally impressive prize pool for the young horse finals. The ‘Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters’ attracts more and more sports enthusiasts, prompting Luk Van Puymbroek and Gerald Lenaerts to present an even stronger foal collection. The German audience is clearly interested, passionate and very professional, easily picking out the standout foals.
Auction topper Ercolano VDH Z
The auction went already amazing until number 20, Ercolano VDH Z (Ermitage Kalone x Conthargos), appeared in the twilight, showcasing his excellent canter under the artificial lights. Auctioneer Koen Olaerts, accompanied by German speaker Henner Hoeschen, struggled with the flood of bids from the VIP lounge, finally stopping at 74,000 euros!
Several of Holger Hetzel’s guests were keen on the foal, as Ercolano’s dam is the half-sister of Crazy in Love, the eight-year-old showjumping talent that fetched 1 million euros at Holger’s auction in November. Ulli Horrig from Luxembourg, Holger’s loyal sponsor since 1990, put up an exciting bidding duel but ultimately lost to the Italian bidders, who secured several more foals with an eye on future sport at top-level. This group also bought Ercule de Hus Z (Ermitage Kalone) for 50,000 euros and Carasco de Nyze Z (Carthago) for 36,000 euros.
Ulli Horrig still managed to secure two foals: Cool Kid van het Oosthof Z (Cornet Obolensky) from the full sister of Emerald for 30,000 euros, and Cayenne PB Z (Carrera VDL x Quaprice du Bois) for 24,000 euros.
Six online, two to Schockemöhle
It total 25 of the 29 foals were sold; six sales took place online. Paul Schockemöhle bought two interestingly bred colts via the computer for 30,000 and 36,000 euros: U Can Fly by Nature (Kasanova de la Pomme) from the Roosakker family and Edward vd Bickyway Z (Ermitage Kalone) out of the eight-year-old 1.45m ranking class mare Plopsa Blue Z.
Top riders Richard Vogel and David Will jointly purchased Quamano vd Nachtegaal Z (Quaprice Bois Margot), bred out of the half-sister of Cumano. Fellow top rider Maurice Tebbel signed for Chici Chica Axelhoeve Z (Casallco). At the end of the evening, two German ladies were finally rewarded for all their bidding, successfully purchasing Chaccorono Z (Chacco Blue) for 36,000 euros.
Host Holger Hetzel was also enthusiastic about the auction. “You see more and more new people coming to our event, having a good time, staying for the auction and getting in the mood to participate.” This underscores the importance of Flanders in combining auctions with showjumping events to bring young jumping talent to the right audience. The next Flanders Foal Auctions will be on August 10 at Sentower Park (foals) and on August 16 in Dublin (embryos).
See all prices at www.flandersfoalauction.be.