This was first posted at QuarterHorseMarketing.com on December 19, 2021.
When you enter the sales pavilion at Heritage Place for the September Quarter Horse racing bred yearling sale you can easily forget that it is 90+° outside. After all, the pavilion, lobby, offices, and restaurant are air-conditioned for our comfort. But when you open the door to go into the barn to see the horses before they go into the sale ring the heat and the smell of horses hits you like a ton of bricks. A lot of people would turn around and go back inside but for those of us with a love for horses, it is either unnoticed or we relish it.
Sights and Sounds
You are also struck by other sights and sounds. The most noticeable is the din of the auctioneer as he sells the horses. It is broadcast throughout the pavilion and the barns on loudspeakers and TV monitors. Everyone standing around the make-up ring, where the horses wait before they go into the sales ring, is studying their sales catalog. A bible to the buyers that they’ve had their nose buried in since it arrived in the mail includes the pedigree and records of each prospect’s sire and dam.
Each consigner decorates their area differently. Some have a booth where they offer snacks, drinks, and various information about their farm’s services, stallions, and the yearlings they have at the sale. Some have video monitors with clips from races their stallions have won or videos about the services offered at their farm. Some aisles have plants. Some have fans. At least one had an air conditioner, a very popular place in the un-air conditioned barn today!
Choosing Your Winner
As you wander down the aisles you notice some of the yearlings are resting while others are playing with their buckets or the stall door. These are only babies after all. The poster on the front of the stall announces their number which indicates when they sell and where they are in the catalog. It also has their pedigree, their page out of the catalog, and stickers for other engagements or tidbits of information. Plus if there are any updates to the information that is in the catalog there is another poster with that information. These are the facts and figures that entice prospective buyers to come take a look and, hopefully, at least two will decide “That’s the one that will win my dream races – I’ve got to have it!”
Preparing for the Ring
As each Quarter Horse racing prospect is taken out of its stall and prepared to go into the sales ring it is brushed to remove any dust and shavings paying particular attention to the mane and tail. They get a pedicure and an application of hoof oil to moisturize and make their hooves glisten. Baby oil is placed on their muzzle and other areas for a final polish. After all, they have to look their best for this dance. Then a sticker with their sales number is placed at the base of their tale and they get their number painted on each hip. Now, after two long years since the mare was bred, they are ready to go to the make-up ring and await their turn in the sales ring.
As they enter the sales ring most of these babies are wide-eyed, but they have been prepared so they are well-behaved. Sometimes the bidding starts slowly and sometimes there is a rush of bids. When the gavel falls on the final bid the young prospect is taken back to its stall to start a new chapter in its life that of a young racehorse in training.
Best of luck to all the new owners and safe trips to all these young Quarter Race Horses!
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Onward!
