New Zealand eventers won a team bronze, with Tim Price picking up an individual bronze, at the 2022 World Championships. Photo by Libby Law Photography
Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ) hopes a charity auction headlined by the offspring of a champion Group 1 sire will help raise much-needed funds to send a team to the FEI World Championships in Germany.
In August, New Zealand’s very best in dressage, eventing and jumping will head to Aachen to compete against the world’s best. Most will travel from Europe, but one is set to fly from New Zealand with IRT.
“The FEI World Championships are a pinnacle event for us,” says ESNZ general manager high performance Jock Paget, “and are an opportunity to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Aachen is a world-class venue which promises to bring the best out of all horses and riders competing there.”
It is hoped the auction, which is one of the centrepieces of the national Fly the Fern campaign, will raise $100,000 which go towards travel expenses.
Headlining the auction is an 80% share in a top two-year-old gelding with Savabeel bloodlines – the Group 1 stallion is recognised as one of the industry’s most celebrated and successful sires.
The gelding has been kindly donated by Balmoral Stables’ Simone Kann and Anna Stokes and is by Wooded (Wootton Bassett x Frida La Blonde) and out of Sociabeel (by Savabeel).
The offering is a rare chance for the successful bidder to step into Thoroughbred ownership at the top end of the market, bringing with it all the thrill of race days and a genuine connection to the campaign supporting our riders on the world stage.
The auction also offers memory-making experiences including exclusive in-camp access for supporters at the Championships and a lesson aboard a Grand Prix dressage horse with Wendi Williamson, who has just been announced as New Zealand’s sole dressage representative at the Champs.
Other items include a one-off horseshoe pendant featuring a silver fern on a silver chain created for the auction by Chele Clarkin Jewellery and a ClipMyHorse international advertising package offering global digital exposure. There are a suite of premium breeding offerings including a semen and foaling package as well as straws from sought-after sport horse lines such as World Cup showjumpers Casebrooke Lomond (Lansing x Lara I) and Chilli Sunday (Sonidor x Chilli Morning).
ESNZ is inviting businesses and individuals to contribute a premium product, an exclusive experience or a bespoke service, to become a recognised official supporter of the New Zealand World Championships team.
The auction will run alongside the prestigious ESNZ Hall of Fame Awards Dinner on Friday, 26 June, at Chateau on the Park, in Christchurch. Bidding opens online through Equus Auctions on June 19 and closes on the evening of the dinner.
For more information, contact ESNZ commercial manager Paxton Kirkbride on +64 27 277 9132 or paxton@nzequestrian.org.nz
For more information –
Diana Dobson
ESNZ high performance media liaison
021 222 0145
Headlining the fundraising auction is an 80% share in a top two-year-old gelding whose dam is by the very successful and celebrated Savabeel. The youngster has been kindly donated by Balmoral Stables’ Simone Kann and Anna Stokes.
