British-bred or shopping abroad? H&H investigates the current sport horse sales market
H&H has taken a look at the horse sales market in a new series, beginning with sport horses
As British breeders continue to feel the impact of soaring costs, what is the demand for top-level competition horses?
During the pandemic, demand for horses and sales prices rocketed across the board. Some buyers were priced out of the market, but there was a strong feeling from many producers and breeders that horses were finally being sold for what they were worth. H&H has taken a look at the current UK market in a new series, beginning with sport horses.
Kilan Dressage stud breeds around 20 foals a year and owner Eleri Jones told H&H the market is “pretty poor”.
“The demand for ridden horses is probably better than foals, I think because people can see what they’re getting. Livery has gone up, so people are thinking about how much it’s going to cost to keep a foal until it’s ridden,” she said.
Eleri started breeding for amateurs, but has evolved to the professional market. She keeps her foals to be sold as ridden young horses, produced by Luis Principe in Gloucestershire.
“Geographically, it’s much easier to sell them in Gloucestershire than in north Wales – people are more willing to go and see them there. It’s also good to have them out competing; if they win or score well at the nationals, it’s basically a free advertisement,” she said.
Prices for a newly backed Kilan three-year-old typically begin at £35,000.
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“If they go to be ridden as four-years-old and they’re really good quality and have clean X-rays, the price will go up from there. Bearing in mind, it costs us as breeders around £20,000 to get them to three-year-olds. If you’re selling them for £15,000 you’re making a loss,” said Eleri, adding that prices have increased since Covid as the stud has become more established.
“That’s not to say that it’s not a tough market. Where we’re at is just trying to produce rideable, trainable horses with good brains. However, I believe there’s always going to be a market for good horses – the riders have to get them from somewhere.
“There are always ups and downs in the market; there are periods when too many horses are being produced, which is what happened during Covid. The minute people stop breeding, there will be a shortage, and then it will go up again.”
Producer and grand prix rider Anna Ross told H&H that advanced dressage horses continue to sell well.
“Our business model is different to what it was before; now I focus on a small number of horses. We keep them longer and sell them at a high level,” she said.
“The last grand prix horse I sold went abroad, and there’s a lot of interest from Asian countries at the moment. Right now people want trained horses, and a more cost-effective way is to buy a horse and put it in training, or have your trainer help you with it.”
John Chambers of Springfield Stud, breeders of event horse Safira who represented Brazil at the Paris Olympics, told H&H he has been struggling to sell youngstock this year.
“I have a nice four-year-old, his sire’s youngstock have done well in the showing field and there’s up to four-star eventing on the dam side, he’s £3,750 and I’ve not had one call. I had a nice three-year-old advertised for £5,000 and no calls,” he said.
“In the UK, the market’s always been slightly fragmented and everyone always thought they could go to Ireland to get a better horse. Brexit came along, but it hasn’t realised the improved sales that as a breeder I’d like to see.
“Looking at professionals, there’s a lot of riders out there that can produce horses but there’s not the depth of owners with £30,000, £40,000, £50,000 to buy those horses,” he said.
Showjumping breeder Danny Dunne of Dunne Sport Horses – whose success stories include five-star horse For Killy – told H&H he has found the market better this year than last.
“We found that last year the cheaper foals, especially in our auction, weren’t selling as well as the more expensive ones. We put that down to hay prices and people thinking that rather than take a chance on a cheaper foal, they’d rather buy from a stallion that they know,” Danny told H&H.
Dunne foals typically range from £5,000 to £15,000-plus. A quality six-year-old with experience can range from £50,000 to £100,000.
“Prices can really vary. Someone else that has done the Lanaken young horse championships might be asking up to £200,000 – and people will pay that,” he said.
“I suppose in showjumping there’s quite a strong correlation between the good stallions and mares and resulting offspring. You can’t guarantee you’re going to have a good horse at the end, but if you do everything right, there’s a strong chance.”
Demand has also remained high for EU and Irish imports. Mark Bosanko of Bosanko Sports Horses told H&H that on average, he sells a horse every day. The Bosankos import horses from Holland and Germany predominantly for the professional market, counting top riders among their client base. Prices can range from £6,000 for a “raw” uneducated horse, up to £50,000, with some exceptions.
“We’ve got a good base of returning clients and producers, and I think that gives us an edge as we’re not looking to produce the horses ourselves usually. Our prices stayed the same during Covid because we weren’t opportunistic. The biggest influence for us has been Brexit rather than Covid,” said Mark.
Mark says that supporting British breeders is important, but he would be unable to meet demand sourcing in the UK.
“Historically, we used to buy over here, but we just couldn’t find the numbers in the quality that we needed. If we could find this, we absolutely would and it would negate all of the complexity and expense that Brexit has brought us. I think the quality is definitely here, there’s no debate about that, but they’re just often not on the market.”
Ireland-based Monbeg Sport Horses, which caters for the professional eventing market, reports continued high demand.
“For the right animal, the top market is very strong and we have a lot of people enquiring. The demand from the UK is about the same as it's always been,” Monbeg co-owner Marti Rudd told H&H.
“I’d say it’s the middle market that’s not really there. I would expect a nice four-year-old that ticks the boxes should be £25,000-plus. I’ve had people in the UK find that too expensive, but the Americans are almost asking, ‘Why so cheap?’. We still get the same amount of enquiries from the UK, but the Americans are getting in there a little bit quicker and are prepared to pay a bit more.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.