Has anyone been to ireland horse shopping??

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skyesthelimit1

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Me and some friends are thinking about going to Ireland next year in hope of bringing some lovely irish ponies home with us.... I'm after advice...

Is it cheaper to hire a lorry and drive yourself? Or get a transporter to do it and drive a car?

We were thinking about going to the Goresbridge sales in feb? Has anyone been to the sales there? Are the horses good quality?

Does anyone have any other advice on how to go about it etc??? Or costs of how much it actually costs to bring a horse over? I know its dependant on distance... but just a rough guide? :D
 
It's over £500 return with a lorry, if you are planning on buying more than 2 it'll probably be cheaper to have them transported - the transporters are usually at the larger sales just for this purpose, costs are approx £200 - £250 depending on where they're going in the UK. I prefer Cavan sales for ridden horses; Goresbridge for unbroken youngsters, but you never know what'll be there on the day - both sales have on-line catalogues so you can have an idea of what you'll be seeing. Both sales also require vet certs, and have re-vetting facillities at the sales.
 
I've been involved with several good young show jumpers we sold at Goresbridge, up to 5/6 yo jumpers. We had them vetted just before so they were sold with 5stage etc. My thoughts are you will get better prices at Goresbridge rather thn Cavan which can be more expensive and may have more professionally produced horses that will just cost that bit more (that said I have not been to either in years!). Worth taking a look at done deal website too in case you can find something to see on that while you are over.
 
thanks :D have been looking on done deals... but i like the idea of the sales.. as the ones i have been to in england, you always seem to get more for your money... the Goresbridge sales have the performance horse sales on the 1st feb then a standard sales on the 2nd... so if i cant afford anything on the 1st im bound to be able to get something i like on the 2nd ;) any one know on best cost saving tips to get there and back? as the more money i save on transport/accomodation, the more i can spend on a horsey :D
 
Im pretty sure public transport will be woeful so depending on where you are based I would get car ferry to Wexford, or fly to Waterford or Dublin and hire a car. Plenty of b&b's near there, prob get something for 25 euro a night or so. Try the bord failte website for b&b, it's a quiet time of year so you can prob ask for a deal if you are staying a few nights and it's mid week
 
Oh and my other tip is if you really like a horse and no one is bidding, wait, when it doesn't sell, then approach whoever was in arena with horse after and you can buy it for less as often seller won't want to take horse back... Of course if people like it and you don't bid then you miss out!
 
Accidently brough a nice young Ish Sport Horse at Goresbridge on my OE over there dangerous places those sales LOL He was sold on to England somewhere thru the same sales. Lovely horse was Chestnut gelding named Kiwi (flying kiwi) sold in 08 I think was 4 at the time.
 
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or you could go to Irish Imports in Pangbourne which has always had very positive reviews on this board (and you know how fussy we are!). That way you will get to see a lot of nice young horses (mostly 4 and 5 year olds), well priced and they are very to the point about their horses. They make their money with a quick turnover but people (lot of big names eventing use them) keep going back. YO is now on her 9th in under 2 years which isn't bad going, 1st one finished up clear XC in his first 1* end of this season. She buys to produce on and has taken a few clients there as well.
 
Been to goresbridge sales a fair few times. Never bought anything but gone for the day out. There's some nice stuff and some dross. The cakes in the canteen are delicious. Wear warm old clothing.
 
Oh God buying at Cavan, they just love the English haha. Watched a middle aged woman bid against herself for several thousand Euro thanks to a charming auctioneer, she just fell for his charm and spent more and more!

got to admit there are some cracking horses theretho, take time to read the catalogue and do a lot of research beforehand. Like any auction do not get carried away. We brought a 17hh home from Donegal to Somerset for £300 cash through Andrew Dunlop, cost me over £500 to take our own trailer one way with our own horse on it when we returned to England from a stay over in the Emerald Isle so would always use a carrier, just don't spend any energy worrying about what may happen while in transit!

If I wanted to buy in Ireland again I would use Donedeal.ie and Farmers Journal to source something to look at and "normal" auctions, ie, not big equi-auction places, then go over for a week or so. Times are hard over there you could bring home the horse of a lifetime for very little cost.

Good luck :)
 
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