Wellington, FL – February 28, 2018 – The annual WEF Sport Horse Auction is set to return to Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), scheduled this year for Thursday, March 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the International Arena at Equestrian Village, home of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival. The auction, now in its fifth year, will offer 17 top horses bred at the renowned VDL Stud in Bears, Netherlands, considered one of the top sport horse breeding operations in the world.
The selection of horses to be presented at this year’s event is quite dynamic. All are between the ages of 5 and 9 years old, entering the prime of their show jumping careers. Of the 17, three are currently competing above the 1.40m level (VDL Cornesch, VDL Efodea, and VDL Eleganto), two are elite level mares (VDL Fastday and VDL Efodea), and one has already begun his Grand Prix career at the CSI 2* level (VDL Eleganto).
Alongside the established top-level competitors, there are also numerous outstanding young horses that show potential for the highest levels of competition. Two exceptional prospects include VDL Heros S and VDL Harwich, who were finalists in their respective age classes at the 2017 FEI/WBFHS World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium. Each of the horses presented during the auction come from top sport horse bloodlines and are ready to step right into the competition arena following the auction with their new owners and riders.
WEF Sport Horse Auction Organizer Melanie Peterson, stated, “This is the most comprehensive group we’ve ever seen come from VDL; every single one of these horses is phenomenal in their own right. We had a great turnout at the presentation on February 20th, and we’re looking forward to a fantastic auction on March 1st. It’s always really exciting to see who ends up with these fantastic horses.“
Past auction graduates have gone on to compete successfully with top international riders such as Ben Maher, Darragh Kenny, and Luciana Diniz. Top Irish rider Daniel Coyle currently competes seven horses that were purchased at previous WEF Sport Horse Auctions, including Farona, who won all three legs of the 1.40m Final at Spruce Meadows in 2017, at only seven years old.
Coyle noted, “There hasn’t been one horse from the WEF Sport Horse Auction that I haven’t really enjoyed riding. They’re fantastic horses and are perfect for top level programs; I think Janko [van de Lageweg] tries to pick out the best horses to bring here.”
VDL Stud has produced top quality sport horses for more than 40 years, including Olympic Medalists and World Champions. In 2009, they were named the KWPN Breeder of the Year. To date, VDL has provided 83 exceptional horses for the WEF Sport Horse Auction and when the last horse is sold at this year’s auction, it will mark the 100th horse sold.
To learn more about this year’s WEF Sport Horse Auction class, please visit www.wefsporthorseauction.com.
PBIEC Press Release
