The Monart Sale, Ireland’s sole elite horse auction which is run by riders for riders at Monart Equestrian in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, has released its 2024 catalogue of horses.
The sale, which will take place on Monday 4 – Thursday 7 November, will feature a range of Ireland’s finest three-year-old event horses. The horses have been selected for the auction based on a number of key attributes which make them highly likely to become 4* and 5* event horses.
“Looking at the current market and economic climate we’ve scaled back on the number of horses included in this year’s sale. We’ve always looked for horses with potential to become top event horses at all levels, but for this year we’ve really focused on trying to select those we believe have the potential to reach the 4* and 5* level,” said Niall Griffin, sale director.
The panel assessing the horses includes five-star event riders Niall Griffin (IRL), Sue Shortt (IRL), Polly Jackson (GBR) and Bill Levett (AUS). All the horses in the sale have been vetted by Irish Olympic team vet Marcus Swail.
“We’ve had over 300 horses to look this year. We also had the pleasure this year of welcoming Sue Shortt back to the ranks as one of our selectors fresh off the back of her coaching the Irish teams to medals at the Young Rider and Junior Europeans. We believe we’ve selected a group of three-year-olds who all have the movement to be competitive at the dressage, the jump to get to 4* and 5* level, and all with good conformation,” added Niall.
Clearance rates above 65%
In previous years, clearance rates at the sale have topped 65% and it is hoped it will be higher this year due to the stricter selection criteria which has been implemented.
Buyers will have two days (Monday 4 – Tuesday 5 November) to view the horses before the online auction takes place on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 November.
The Monart Sale has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2010 with the aim of providing a platform for vendors in Ireland to bring horses and receive a fair and honest price for their horse, and for buyers to have a sale where they felt safe in the knowledge that everything was transparent and of the highest quality.
Previous buyers have included Olympic champion Michael Jung, Badminton winner Caroline Powell and Maryland 5* victor Austin O’Connor. Monart graduate Hot Bobo competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Canadian event rider Karl Slezak.
The full catalogue can be found at www.themonartsale.com.
