Sport horse breeders and buyers are set to benefit from a brand new British auction showcasing finalists from this year’s Nexgen series for young event, dressage and showjumping horses.
The multi-discipline Nexgen series, which aims to emulate Germany’s prestigious Bundeschampionate young horse championships, has returned for a second year, with qualifiers throughout the summer, and finals for all three Olympic disciplines at Hickstead on 24-26 September. All finalists can be entered for a live-streamed auction at The Loundfield, Notts, on 6 October. Each horse will undergo a thorough vetting process prior to the auction by Nexgen’s veterinary panel.
“Nexgen provides UK breeders and young horse producers with a reliable platform to reach buyers across the globe,” said series founder and director Victoria Wright. “Our aim is to connect the highest calibre vendors and buyers, while ensuring that the stars of the future are produced in the right environment to achieve their full potential on the world stage.
“The Nexgen auction will give potential buyers reassurance and confidence that the young horses in which they are interested have been produced carefully and correctly and are the right type to mature into top-class sport horses.”
This year, the series has been extended to seven-year-old horses, as well as those aged four, five and six. The prize money has also been doubled from to its inaugural running in 2020, to produce a total pot of £52,000, with £15,500 per discipline, and prizes for breeders.
“The auction is a fabulous idea. Since Brexit, people are looking more inwards to the British market for horses, and we need to step up,” grand prix dressage rider and breeder Anna Ross told H&H. “The fact that the auction horses will go through a vetting procedure is ideal, as this is one way in which the British are not keeping up with mainland Europe.
“We will have to wait to see to what extent the auction is embraced, but for me as a breeder this is great news, and a really innovative project.”
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For eventers, the series features 12 qualifiers for four- and five-year-olds, while six- and seven-year-olds who meet the Nexgen criteria at affiliated level will get direct entry to the Hickstead finals. The 2020 winners were Virgina Turnbull on Cathmor Fusion (four-year-olds), JP Sheffield with Special K (five-year-olds) and Eliza Stodddart on Codebreaker (six-year-olds).
For dressage horses, there are 12 nationwide qualifiers with specially written tests for four-, five-, six- and seven-year-olds. Last year’s winners were Elly Darling on Lestingdale (four-year-olds, pictured), Jezz Palmer with King (five-year-olds) and Sadie Smith riding Jaguar I (six-year-olds).
In showjumping, horses must meet the following criteria: four-year-olds must have jumped two clear rounds at 1m at national affiliated competitions, five-year-olds at 1.10m, six-year-olds at 1.20m and seven-year-olds at 1.30m.
The 2020 jumping winners were Lottie Tutt with Billy Mufasa (four-year-olds), Jessica Hewitt on Diatender TW (five-year-olds) and Nicola Pavitt with Es Coco Kan (six-year-olds).
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