Southern Saddlebred Sales Announces Yearling Showcase
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Southern Saddlebred Sales, Inc. is excited to announce that a Yearling Showcase Sale will be included in this year’s Fall Sale. The sale will be held in conjunction with the Fall Finale Horse Show, October 18-20, 2012 at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN. It will be a sale by day and a show by night.
“We hope to provide a marketplace for Saddlebred Yearlings in hand who are ready to begin their training,” said James Hale. “As a breeder myself, I know the earlier you can get a prospect sold, the better it is for the bottom line.” Yearlings entered into this portion of the sale will pay an entry fee of $250. The 10% commission on the sale will go in a Bonus Prize Money account to be paid out the next year in Two Year Old Showcase classes at the Fall Finale Horse Show, which will be held in conjunction with the Fall Sale on an annual basis.
“We plan to offer Two Year Old Five Gaited, Three Gaited and Fine Harness Showcase classes at the 2013 horse show,” said James. The commission earned on the sale of the Yearlings in 2012 will be divided equally among the three classes and paid out to the top placing entries that went through the sale. This program will be similar to the UPHA Classics Incentive Sale held at the UPHA American Royal. “I think the UPHA Incentive Sale is a great program. We hope to offer a similar program in the Southeast, with a quicker turnaround, as the consignments will be eligible for the Bonus Prize Money the very next year as two-year-olds.”
Hale relates a story of his first time to attend the Newmarket Select Yearling Sale, which was a popular sale held at Fasig-Tipton back in the 80’s with the same premise.
I was working for Jones Valley Farm in Anniston, AL and I travelled to Lexington with Gary Jones and his wife, Joanne in November, 1986. The three of us piled up in his 1979 red and white pickup truck; Joanne wearing her fur coat and she had me dressed up like something out of Miami Vice. I have to laugh, thinking back on how ridiculous we must have looked – ‘country come to town’ for sure! We had Saddlebreds, but we wanted better ones, so we went to Newmarket to pick out a couple of prospects. Gary bought 3 yearlings that first trip – one of which was a small, punched-up colt consigned by MacDonald Farm of Georgia that looked a bit more like a Thoroughbred than a Saddlebred. Gary paid $6,200 for him, the least expensive of the three, but he turned out to be the best of the bunch. His name was Wall Street Week, and he took all of us to a new level, opening up doors and opportunities for me that I may not have ever had otherwise. I would like the chance to do that for someone else.
“We believe the timing is perfect for a Saddlebred Sale and Show in Middle Tennessee,” said Jackie Hale, “and the Yearling Showcase is a great opportunity to market young prospects to a broader audience.” Once again, the sale will be webcast via the USEF Network.
Entries close for the Fall Sale on September 4, 2012. Visit www.southernsaddlebredsales.com for more information and to download an entry form. Contact the Hales at 205-669-6649 with any questions, or to have an entry form or horse show prize list mailed to you.
|