Strader Eventing: Goresbridge to Go time
Over the years, prestigious sport horse sales overseas like the Monart or Go for Gold sale had always intrigued me. I’ve spent countless hours perusing the gorgeous stock available each fall, wondering if it would ever be feasible for me. Last summer I had sold one of my personal horses who had completed at the preliminary level and had a little cash in hand (for once!). The sales list for the Goresbridge Go for Gold sale had been published I began contemplating if I should finally give the sale a go. It seemed fairly daunting as I had never imported a horse before nor participated in an auction like that. I’d been involved in the thoroughbred sales so I had a vague idea of what to expect but knew that it would probable be a pretty steep learning curve.
After looking over the 60 something different horses on the sale list I had narrowed it down to about 10 horses I liked. Each horse has multiple videos and pictures provided as well as a full set of basic rads. One of the things I appreciated about the sale was that this information was required and made public so I could have my vet here in the states check things over beforehand. Confirmation pics, pedigree, walking and jogging videos as well as a free jumping video was all provided for each horse. Some horses had videos under saddle or even at competitions listed as well. They free jumped the horses during the sale as well and it was really interesting to see the horses’ reactions to being in a new place with a bit of atmosphere. Sadly I wasn’t able to travel over to Ireland for the sale so this content was hugely helpful for me to make my decision. If one were to attend the sale you are actually allowed to ride the horses (4 yr olds and up) and go visit them in person. Since I wasn’t able to be there in person I was able to find a local horse agent (who was a good friend of a good friend!) that I could trust to look at the horses for me and help me narrow it down. She was also able to bid for me in person which was a huge help as the time difference and working with technology for bidding can be a bit tricky. I definitely would advise people to either go in person and have an agent help them or find an agent that they trust to help give them eyes on the ground.
When it came to bidding day I had narrowed it down to a top 3 with a beautiful 3 yr old chestnut filly at the top of the list. When it came time to start bidding on her my agent and I stayed in touch over the phone and she was able to bid for me in real time.
The filly was highly sought out and ultimately she went for more money than I was able to spend. Unfortunately the other two I liked had already sold before the chestnut so there really wasn’t much left to sell that interested me enough to bid on. Luckily in a funny turn of events the outfit that was selling the chestnut had another filly that went earlier in the sale that hadn’t reached their desired price and didn’t sell. My agent spoke with them and they said nothing but good things about her and I was able to look over her videos again. I had originally passed her over because in her confirmation picture she looked a bit small and plain compared to the chestnut filly with chrome. They were super complimentary of the filly and my agent assured me they were trustworthy. A quick look at the rads with the vet and then had to make a decision! I went with my gut and decided to say yes to the little unassuming bay filly. Her proper name being MBF Qatara I decided Cat as her barn name.
As soon as the horse is paid for, the buyer is then responsible for getting shipping arranged from the sale to a holding barn until they are ready to start their journey to the US. My agent kindly went and fed her for me the next morning and helped arrange forher to go somewhere for a few days until they were ready to ship out. Our agent recommended EIS Agency which works with Dutta Corporation in the US to handle the shipping process all the way through. I was able to speak with them on the phone and get a broad look at the process and they were able to answer any questions I had as a greenie to the import scene. They even created a WhatsApp group with me and all the various stops on her trip to keep me updated through the journey. They sent videos and updates daily and Cat was able to go on the walker to stretch her legs.
The quarantine requirements are a bit more stringent for the mares vs the geldings so she had to stay in Irish quarantine for about a week before going on the plane. They have to monitor bloods and CEM (Contagious equine metritis) before departing. According to AAEP Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) is a non-systemic, venereal disease of equines that causes short-term infertility in mares and rare abortion.
Depending on where the horse is being shipped they will travel from specific airports. Cat traveled by boat to Liege, rested a day before boarding the plane to Miami. You can decide how big of a stall (narrow or wide) you’d like them to have on the plane and prices are reflective of such. Once she made it to Miami she stayed in quarantine at the airport for a few days before being shipped to a CEM quarantine in Ocala, FL (I would be bringing the rest of my horses down there a month after she arrived ). Mares have to have to be swabbed a certain number of times cleanly before they can be released from quarantine. This usually ends up at around 21 days. EIS helped guide me when choosing a quarantine facility and I ended up choosing Hope Hall Farm in Ocala. They were very communicative throughout the whole process and I was able to send fly gear, ulcergard etc. to the farm easily. After all the various shipping costs and quarantine facilities the total cost to get her to the US was around fifteen thousand.
Once finished with quarantine I was able to come pick her up and move her to another farm there in Ocala. She had lost some weight during her trip (not uncommon due to the stress of the sale then shipping) so I gave her about a month before getting her into work. From there I took it quite slow revisiting the basics of breaking to make sure she remembered everything from a few months ago when they broke her in Ireland.
We spent the winter getting her back to work on the flat and starting hacking out. After returning to my summer base in Kentucky its been a steady climb getting her fitter and stronger while she is still growing! She turned 4 in April and has been incredibly lovely and easygoing to work with. Fast forward to September where she is entered in her first ever event at the Kentucky Horse Park at the end of the month!
