KNIGHTFIELD Equestrian in Ovidstown, Co Kildare is the place to be on Saturday, September 9th to celebrate the quality and athleticism found in Irish Warmblood foals, to learn best practices, and to sell and buy top quality foals.
Both showjumping and eventing foals are featured. A Championship prize fund of €10,000 will be shared by the best foals. And the breeder of every foal selected for the Festival and Elite Auction will be awarded a free service to a WSI Approved or Recognised Stallion.
The Festival begins at 10am with the first parade of superior foals available for sale in the auction. Four educational seminars will be offered in the morning and afternoon along with mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments and lunch.
The Festival speakers are Heinz Meyer, who has served for many years as Paul Schockemöhle’s Breeding Manager at Gestüt Lewitz, and Michael Sadlier, a partner and world-renowned veterinary surgeon at Troytown GreyAbbey Equine Hospital and Chairman of the Irish Warmblood Foundation. Meyer’s topics are “How we select stallions and mares at Gestuet Lewitz” and “Gestuet Lewitz’s focus on sport in our breeding program”.
Sadlier will speak on “Caring for the foal: From birth to six months” and “Keeping them strong & straight: Managing youngsters’ limbs.”
The Championship and Elite Auction will begin shortly after 4pm, and those not able to attend the Festival will be admitted to the auction at 4pm upon presentation or purchase a catalogue. Immediately before the auction begins Heinz Meyer will select the top three colts and top three fillies, award the €10,000 in Championship prize money, and explain to the audience why he selected each foal. After the Championship the auction will begin. The sires of the foals and in utero foals include Cornet Obolensky, Quidam de Revel, Air Jordan, Ulysses m2s, Newmarket Venture, Ai Weiwei m2s, Udancer Hero, Quartz Rouge, Tyson, and Desir du Chateau.
Foals were selected for the Championship and Elite Auction by the WSI Inspection Committee whose members include WSI and KWPN inspectors. The inspectors travelled to breeders’ yards throughout the country and inspected foals and their dams. Foals evaluated for the Elite Auction first had to pass the pedigree test but superior papers are not sufficient for selection. The guiding philosophy of the organisers is to select athletes: elasticity, excellent gaits – especially the canter – and correct conformation are required for selection. Buyers can be assured that the paper is good, but the foals are even better than their paper.
The Irish Warmblood Festival & Elite Auction is organised by three collaborating organisations: Warmblood Studbook of Ireland, Irish Warmblood National Stud, and Irish Warmblood Foundation.
All profits earned by the organisers from the Elite Auction will be donated to endowment of the Irish Warmblood Foundation, a non-profit organisation that has applied for registration by the Charities Regulatory Authority.
TICKETS
Festival tickets (€40 for Festival admission, lunch, two coffee/tea services, a printed catalogue, and entry to the Championship & Elite Auction) are available by ringing 087 222 9701 or through online purchase at http://www.irishwarmbloodfestival.com/store
Only 80 tickets are available for the Festival due to space limitations and catering requirements, and with many tickets already purchased, the organisers suggest you act quickly to avoid disappointment.
Those wishing to attend only the Championship and Elite Auction from 4pm to 6pm may buy a catalogue in advance on the homepage or purchase one at the gate for €10. A catalogue is required for admission and participation in the auction. Prior purchase is advised as Knightfield’s arena capacity is several hundred, and the same number of catalogues is offered for sale.
(The GPS Coordinates of Knightfield Stud are 53.329788, -6.637301)