The Inaugural SCOPE Auction

The star of Ireland's inaugural SCOPE auction of showjumping, dressage, and eventing prospects was the last lot of the day, Ulysses M2S.

Ulysses M2S.

After a round of spirited bidding that included two-time Olympic gold-medal-winner Gillian Rolton accepting telephone bids from the United States, the final bid of euro67,000 was placed ringside by the famous Irish horse marketer Paul Larkin of Larkin Brothers International Ltd. The bid was not sufficient for the breeder/owner to part with this magnificent prospect for sport and breeding, and Ulysses M2S left the ring unsold.

Soon after, Morningside Stud's Thomas Reed, the breeder and owner of Ulysses M2S, accepted an offer of euro67,500 from Irish rider Denis Flannelly, bidding on behalf of his American client, with the understanding that Ulysses M2S will be campaigned in sport for Ireland and be presented for stallion approval this fall on the continent.

Ulysses M2S is a two-year-old bay stallion bred by Morningside Stud and registered with the KWPN. He is by Ekstein out of the KWPN "keur" mare Gudrun (Voltaire
x Le Mexico x Marco Polo).

Paul Larkin, the runner-up in the bidding dual, stated the next day, "I am delighted for Denis Flannelly and his American owner but I am very disappointed that I missed out on this terrific young stallion. I would have broken him this year and sold him to America next year as a three-year-old."

Less dramatic, but equally as pleasing to buyers and sellers alike, was the SCOPE auction's results for foals. Eight of the fifteen foals on offer sold with the highest price, euro9,500 earned by the stylish and stunning colt Lassban Radison (Radolin x Rame Z) offered by Lassban Sport Horses. A top prospect for sport, a colt with the dream pedigree of Condios x Cavalier Royale x Clover Hill and appropriately named Kilpatrick Treble C, left the ring unsold after the final bid of euro9,600 was not quite enough for the breeders.

Dr. Thomas Reed, the managing director of SCOPE Auction Ltd., was very pleased with the results of the auction. "We had buyers present from the USA, Great Britain,
Italy, Holland, and Belgium plus we received very good participation by telephone from the USA. All the new owners received outstanding young horses at exceptional
value."

Also delighted with the outcome of this first SCOPE auction was the global array of sponsors that helped to make it a success: Connolly's Red Mills horse feed (Ireland); Equest and Equitape oral gel (Ireland); the Irish Tourist Board; KWPN (Holland); BCM, publishers of Horse International and the WBFSH International Breeding Guide (Holland); Dressage Ireland; Leading Stallions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg (Holland); The Leading Mares of the Netherlands (Holland); The International Stallion Guide for Sport Horses (Canada); The Show-Jumping Archive (Italy); Breeding News for Sport Horses (Canada); The Horse Magazine (Australia); Larkin Brothers International Ltd. (Ireland); www.equibus.com (USA); Thoroughbred Insurance Services (Ireland); Equine Express International Transport (Ireland); Morningside Stud (Ireland) and www.jumpingaround.com (Ireland).

SCOPE Auction Ltd. is owned by Dr. Reed, Jennie Loriston-Clarke (the dressage rider who represented Great Britain in four Olympics), Gillian Rolton (the Australian eventing Olympian), and the Flannelly family (owners of the spectacular new Kill International Equestrian Centre, the venue for all SCOPE events). The SCOPE Selection Committee, which chooses horses for the auctions, is comprised of Ms. Loriston-Clarke, Ms. Rolton, the Irish Olympic showjumping rider Ned Campion, and Jaap Werners, the chairman of the KWPN stallion inspection committee. All SCOPE horses must be born in Ireland and pass a strict selection process that includes a veterinary examination and, in the case of all horses except foals, x-rays using the same criteria as the Hanoverian Verband and Danish Warmblood stallion inspection committees.

The next SCOPE elite auction is scheduled for November 4th and will feature foals, 3-year-old loose-jumpers, and 4- and 5-year-olds under saddle. Further information will be available at www.scope-auction.com

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