A lot has changed in recent months... Half a year ago no one could have imagined that a virus like COVID-19 could have such far-reaching consequences. And also the equestrian trade looks completely different in 2020 ...
No traveling
Now that COVID-19 has made travel impossible, trading a horse to a foreign country is also nearly impossible. Even Paul Schockemöhle experiences it: "Normally I sell about 95% of my horses abroad, but now that it is not possible to try the horses, sales have dropped to almost zero. Fortunately, we had already started with online auctions a while ago. We have been relying on Hippomundo for a long time already! "
"I expect about 1,000 foals this year, so in this crisis our online auctions are more important than ever. Fortunately, that continues to go well. Every other week we offer 10 to 15 talented young horses. In addition to photos and jumping videos, we also show the Hippomundo Black Type pedigree of all young horses. This way, a potential customer can make a well-informed decision. Good information is now more important than ever! "
Belgian Horse Trading
Despite the everyday uncertainty, the Spits-De Winter family also chooses to auction online. "We started Belgian Horse Trading last year," Kristel Ceulemans starts her story. "We want to open up the world to everyone through this online auction platform. Young promising jumpers, amateur show jumpers, competition ponies, schoolmasters, ... We try to provide a good variety where customers can buy in confidence at fair prices.
Already before the corona crisis, we had two auctions scheduled for this spring. One for schoolmasters and ponies and one for young horses and elite horses. Their photos and videos were taken long before the crisis. When it was decided that all events were canceled and all non-essential movements were prohibited, we were at our wits end. We provided a presentation moment for the young horses during our annual Groentenjumping, where a lot of horse people come together. It seemed the ideal time to present our interesting collection. But we had an even bigger problem for the auction of our schoolmasters and ponies, because that auction was scheduled at the end of March, which meant that these horses and ponies could not be tried... "
"We then put our heads together and thought creatively. We would try to give people as much information as possible via the telephone, but we would do that otherwise as well. So how could we give people some extra confidence to buy a horse without trying it? We decided that we would give buyers the right to try out their horse under supervision. If the feeling was not good, the sale could be canceled. We knew that this would pose a risk, because it might stop horses from being sold. But that was a service we were happy to provide. We stand behind our selection and we are proud of that. "
"For the young horse auction, which now runs from April 10 to 14, we had hoped that trying horses would be an option, but unfortunately. Nevertheless, we have decided to auction anyway. They are talented young horses and with the videos, photos and Hippomundo Black Type pedigrees we try to provide a buyer with as much information as possible. We are also available by phone for honest advice! We stand behind our collection and we are therefore confident. We have to move forward and these are challenging times for everyone, but we believe that online auctions are the future. "
Everse & Waldman
Mario Everse and Alan Waldman also believe in the online philosophy. They set up Youhorse.Auction last week. "Before the crisis broke out, our interest was already aroused in setting up an online auction, an idea that had accelerated in recent weeks," explains Everse. "International trade has declined now that competitions have come to a standstill, passenger flights have been canceled, customers remain at home and export papers are more difficult to obtain. In short, the stables stay a bit fuller and many foals will be born again this year, so we wanted to take our chance. "
"We now have hundreds of young horses, but insufficient infrastructure to give them all a good education," adds Alan Waldman. "We think this is a good opportunity to buy a rough diamond from us. These horses can grow into something very valuable. For sports, breeding or with a view to trading later. In our first collection, we will offer approximately forty two- and three-year-olds virtually. "
One thing is certain... The horse trade will never look the same after this corona crisis.
