HORSE AUCTION BELGIUM: COONEY SOLD TO NEW ZEALAND FOR €100,000

The final seconds before the hammer fell were clearly nerve-wracking, as the sense of relief and excitement was immense when the team of Grand Prix rider Luke Dee realized they had secured the most popular young horse of Horse Auction Belgium. The four-year-old Cooney (Chacoon Blue x Los Angeles) was sold for €100,000, following a spectacular free jumping performance at Sentower Park.

The VIP section of the indoor arena was packed on Saturday evening, August 2, with professionals who know how to spot a promising young horse. The auction horses had already impressed with their presentation videos, but had to prove themselves once more in a live free jumping session. And they did! Some even exceeded expectations, although the favorites had already been marked in the catalogs.

Spotted on Instagram
“I saw Cooney on Instagram and completely fell in love with him,” said Amelia Clark, girlfriend of New Zealander Luke Dee. In the meantime, Luke Dee was on the phone with Fiona Hall, the horse owner with whom he purchased the light-footed, quick-reacting and scopey gelding. “Purchased for the future! This is our first time buying at an auction,” the enthusiastic blonde added. She tells that Fiona Hall also owns the nine-year-old Gangster WW (Grandslam VDL), purchased from Cian O’Connor, with whom Luke participated in his first World Cup Final earlier this year in Basel.

Average price: €24,300
The three- and four-year-old auction horses were sold internationally for an average price of €24,300. The second-highest price of €55,000 went to the spectacular jumping grey mare Emily van Schuttershof (Emerald x Kashmir Van Schuttershof), who will move to Ireland. A winning phone bid of €46,000 came from the Middle East for Tsarina Z (Taran de la Pomme), a talented granddaughter of Olympic mare H&M Butterfly Flip.

Next in line was Bandaroen vd Holsteinerhoeve (Balou du Reventon x Quantum), sold for €34,000. Candice H (Chacoon Blue x Singulord Joter) and Arianne LVP Z (Aganix du Seigneur x Clearway) both went for €32,000, while Catcher (Cornet Obolensky x Cassini I) was knocked down at €30,000.