BY JEAN LLEWELLYN / PRESS RELEASE
PHOTOGRAPHY: RECKIMEDIA
Some 30 promising foals from the 2026 vintage were offered by the Westfalian Studbook. In combination with a Westfalian Oktoberfest, spectators celebrated the next generation of Westfalian horses with 84% of the foals being sold to new owners.
It was a foal auction unlike anything ever previously seen by the Westfalian Studbook. While Westfalians are usually known for their more subdued demeanor, today’s event at the Westfalian Horse Center impressively demonstrated that things can be done differently. In an era of online auctions and live internet broadcasts, it’s something special to fill halls and bring people together in person to buy foals. With an atmospheric Oktoberfest-style event, this was a resounding success today in Münster-Handorf. Over 400 fashionable visitors showed up to celebrate the youngest Westfalians in style.
The foals were auctioned off in blocks, interspersed with musical interludes by the live band Allgäusterne. Lot No. 109, Fürst Florent (breeder and exhibitor: Sonja Veerkamp-Rabbermann, Vlotho), kicked off the second block. The son of the legendary Fürstenball was bred out of a fullsister of the Inter II successful Valleyfair. His dam, Ventura by Vitalis, had already produced a son of Glamourdale in 2024 that was successfully sold at the auction of the Westfalia Week. The strikingly handsome bay sparked an exciting bidding duel in the lively auction hall. It took a long time before auctioneer Thomas Münch could make the final bid. In the end, the hammer fell at €40,000 on the auctioneer’s podium, which had been stylishly designed for the evening by a tree stump.
After the evening’s opening by the traditional tapping of the keg, the foal auction began with lot number 101. The foal’s dam has already caused quite a stir in Westfalia on several occasions. She is none other than the performance mare Diamond Girl by Diamond Hit, who enjoyed great successes with Nadine Capellmann in dressage competitions up to the advanced class. With her son San Maxime by San to Alati, this impressive chestnut mare wowed the crowd at the foal auction held during the 2023 European Dressage Championships in Riesenbeck. There, the colt was purchased for the top price. Her son, born in 2026, is named Gainsborough, by Glamdale I WP (breeder and exhibitor: Britta Heinen, Issum). He had already attracted the attention of several bidding parties during the pre-auction bidding. The final bid was placed by on-site customers for €31,000.
Four riding pony foals rounded out the high-quality lot of riding horse foals. All of them found new owners that evening. With a hammer price of €10,000, the last pony foal in the lot was particularly popular. New Rules by FS Numero Uno NRW x Dating AT NRW (breeder and exhibitor: Wilhelm Leuermann, Saerbeck) descends from the dam line of European Champion Daily Pleasure WE. The colt’s dam was a reserve champion at the Elite Show in Münster-Handorf...
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