THE best advice I can give from our point of view is: “Be ready.”

It is vital that consignors/vendors/showing teams are ready to show their horses (regardless of category) at all reasonable times as most purchasers are on a tight schedule and do not like to be kept waiting. Obviously, accentuating the positives is also important. Make sure the horse looks its best and is well schooled, this leads to it showing easily.

Have any pertinent information such as auction updates of note visible and readily available. The key point is to make it as easy as possible for prospective buyers to like the horse(s) you are trying to sell as to use the old cliché, you only get one chance to make a first impression; that goes for horses too.

When liaising with the auctioneer, it helps us to know who may be most interested and to have an idea of what is a reasonable value for your horse. The auctioneer will discuss that with you and will offer their advice if required and taking all things into account including market trends, their view of the horse in question and anything of note that you can tell us. The reserve wants to be the lowest price a vendor will accept to sell and then it’s up to the auctioneer to exceed that figure by as much as possible.

Finally, remember the auctioneer and the auction house team are working for you and with you, and will always do their best to assist, advise, and help. We view every single entry as important as we know we are nothing without the horses that are entrusted to us for sale, and every lot matters.