With a record-breaking auction, Foal Auction Prinsjesdag has once again proven today that excellent foals with first-class performance genes are very well paid. Sjaak van der Lei and Jenny Toes' Orange Peel van 't Studutch came in the hands of Olympic rider Cian O'Connor for the top prize of €70,000 and the average price rose to an excellent €15,150 this edition.

For many years, Foal Auction Prinsjesdag has been one of the best auctions in Europe. The show jumping foals auctioned today once again achieved record prices and the prevailing, slightly negative trend was completely broken. Quality is paid for, that was proven once again tonight.

Vision underlined
There was great international interest in the 63 carefully selected foals. Buyers from countries such as Sweden, Italy, America, Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland and South Africa made their mark. Olympic top rider Cian O'Connor made several investments in the future, and several foals are leaving for Ireland, including the excellent auction topper Orange Peel van 't Studutch. This colt by For Pleasure out of the full sister of Quickly de Kreisker underlines the motto 'The power of performance' in a fantastic way and delivered the record price of € 70,000. “It is very nice to be able to look back on such a successful auction, where not only clear peaks emerged in height, but also the quality in width and the high average of more than 15,000 euros. This proves that our vision is the right one. Excellent foals with a good canter, a good exterior and a lot of sport in the maternal lines. Today it has been proven that such foals are paid very well," says chairman Arjan van der Waaij enthusiastically.

fillies
As was previously thought, the genetically high-quality fillies were in great demand. There was great international interest for future foundation dams. This resulted in great prizes for, among others, Casalla II van de Eijkhof (Casall x Calvaro Z, breeder Frank van Eijkelenburg, € 36,000), Unique by Nature (Untouchable x Vigo d'Arsouilles, breeders Stan and Daan Creemers, € 32,000), Chanel van 't Gebergte (Cicero Z x Diamant de Semilly, breeder Bob Janssens, €28,000), Diamant van de Wimphof (Diamant de Semilly x Berlin, breeder Carla Kramer, €28,000), Anna Bel van 't Gebergte (Amadeo van 't Vossenhof Z x Diamant de Semilly, breeder Bob Janssens, €26,000) and Casalla Z (Casall x Calvaro Z, breeder Tinus van der Bruggen, €26,000). Stallion foals as Coaster EC Z (Colman x Balou du Rouet, breeder EC Horses,  €30,000) and Cornet Blue Z (Cornet Obolensky x Chacco-Blue, breeders S. and MA Aerts, €26,000) also did excellent business for their breeders. “Two-thirds of the foals delivered a price of more than 10,000 euros, and 15 even went over the 20,000 mark. Of course it's not just about the numbers, but it's nice to get confirmation that we are all able to present a top collection here. We are not tied to a studbook and have tried to select foals that the market demands. These results are a compliment to the breeders, the selection committee and the organization. And that gives a lot of motivation and good hope for the future of Foal Auction Prinsjesdag!”

During Foal Auction Prinsjesdag on September 17, selection committee member Willem van Hoof, together with rider Harrie Smolders, will offer a mating of the much-discussed Emerald van 't Ruytershof son Escape Z as the opening auction piece. The proceeds of this cover will go entirely to the charity, Support Casper.

The striking Emerald van 't Ruytershof son Escape Z is a half-brother of the well-producing Grand Prix stallion Untouchable (by Hors La Loi II). Both stallions were bred by Willem van Hoof out of the elite sport-jump performance mare Promesse (by Heartbreaker). The now seven-year-old Escape Z was already extremely successful in England with the young horses under co-owner Danielle Ryder and is now being further trained for the sport by top rider Harrie Smolders. Smolders has been co-owner of the top talent since last year and so Escape Z has a promising future ahead of it. Last month the duo already jumped into the spotlight at the Stephex Masters in Brussels, where they were clear every day and, among other things, were sixth in the 1.40/1.45m YH-Grand Prix.

Opening auction piece
On the day of the jumping foals, 17 September, this cover, made available by Willem van Hoof and Harrie Smolders, will be auctioned at Foal Auction Prinsjesdag in Ermelo.

Look at here a video of Escape Z.

Foal Auction Prinsjesdag is proud to present its promising collection of jumping and dressage foals, which will be auctioned on 17 and 18 September in Ermelo. “Certainly in terms of fillies, there is no auction in Europe with this caliber of foals”, light selector Fred van Straaten as a tip of the veil.

A select group of 65 show jumping and 60 dressage foals, including one foal for charity in each breeding direction, will be auctioned on 17 and 18 September at the National Equestrian Center in Ermelo.

fillies

Both selection committees are full of praise for the selected foals. “We think that this year we have been particularly successful in putting together a top collection for jumping foals,” say selectors Fred van Straaten and Willem van Hoof. “We have a lot of very interesting colts, and certainly in terms of fillies there is no auction in Europe that can match our collection. This makes Foal Auction Prinsjesdag the auction to invest in the future, with a view to both sport and breeding. Thanks to all the good breeders, we can start auctioning very interesting foals on September 17th, in which we have rock-solid confidence.”

Extreme movement talents

The quality in width is also very striking in the dressage direction. “And that is supplemented by a number of extreme peaks to the top”, selector Lauw van Vliet is enthusiastic. “I have been involved in the selection of dressage foals since this year and you can't quite predict how things will go in advance. But I am very surprised by the loyalty of the breeders and the good reputation that Foal Auction Prinsjesdag has visibly built up. The offer was very good and then the bar continues to rise. We really selected for movement, shifting power, a functional exterior and good development. Great foals from good stocks, who have a great future ahead of them.” On September 18, it will be determined for the dressage foals with whom they can start the further future.

Bid online in our auctions, you can register here.

The list of Foal Auction Prinsjesdag references that perform well in international sport continues to grow. They pop up everywhere in both show jumping and dressage. Such as the Clinton son Flinton, the Berlin daughter E'Special PS and VDL Groep Elexia (s.Calvaro Z) in the jumping direction. Horses that underline our motto 'the power of performance'.

E'Special PS (Berlin x Caruso), bred by Peter Simons, is making progress with two international victories. With Karl Cook, the ten-year-old mare won both the 1.45m in CSI2* Del Mar and the 1.40m in CSI4*-W Vancouver last month. VDL Groep Elexia also booked a double in August (Calvaro Z x Alexis Z, breeder Frank van Eijkelenburg). With Leopold van Asten in the saddle, she jumped clear to second prize in the 1.45m class of CSI5*-GCT Valkenswaard, and to eighth place in the Grand Prix of CSI2* Kronenberg.

Prize winners

The nine-year-old Clinton son Flinton (ds.Heartbreaker, breeder Carlo Testa) is also developing positively under Emilio Bicocchi. On August 25, they took fourth prize in the 1.50m against the clock at CSI3* Valence. Another Foal Auction Prinsjesdag reference showed a strong showing at the same competition. The Colman son Baron (ds.Numero Uno, breeder Stoeterij 't Heemskind) jumped clear with Roberto Turchetto to fifth place in the 1.50m in Valence. Last month in Ascona they finished third in the CSI5* 1.50m. The Zirocco Blue VDL daughter Glamor Girl (ds.Caletto I, breeder Stoeterij Gaesbeek) is also expanding her honors list. The mare previously successful under Charlotte Bettendorff now performs with Richard Howley. In the Grand Prix of CSI2* Zandhoven, their double clear round led to second place, after they had already finished third in the classic 1.45m at CSI3* Dinard at the beginning of August.