Bargain Horses the Mane Event

Potential buyers have been at the Gold Coast Polo and Country Club inspecting horses to be auctioned at the Magic Millions Sales Complex at Bundall this afternoon at 5pm.

More than 100 horses are in the catalogue from six major equestrian disciplines — showjumping, dressage, polo, eventing, showhorse and endurance.

The auction is the first of its kind in Australia and while the inaugural event has not been a huge success so far, Mr Chester said he hoped it would grow in years to come.

“It’s been a little bit disappointing,” he said.

“We thought there’d be more people here (inspecting) being the first sale.”

Mr Chester said sales in the sporthorse industry had been made difficult during the tough economic times.
 
He said people were not looking to buy general leisure horses in the current financial climate, but this sale provided a chance for them to do so.

“We couldn’t have picked a tougher time to start this sale but in saying that we’ve got to start sometime,” he said.

“You’re not going to get a better time to buy a horse the way the economy is.

“This is the year to buy. You’re never going to get a better deal than you’ll get (today).”

Depending on the discipline, Mr Chester said horses in the catalogue could fetch anywhere between $1000 and $100,000.

He said most of the vendors wanted to make a sale so they would keep prices low.

“This is for the mums and dads that have a child beginning to ride and they want a horse to learn on,” he said.

“Basically most of the horses in this sale are for beginners or intermediate riders.”

Buyers from across Asia have flown in especially for the event.

Mr Chester said they had been impressed by horses from Victoria, Queensland and NSW.

Magic Millions Director Gerry Harvey said Australia was known as a destination for high-quality and high-value yearlings.

“We believe Magic Millions could become the Asia-Pacific destination for those who are serious about competing internationally in the equestrian disciplines,” he said.