Whether you want a quick scan of the prices, or if you wish to view the sold lots, together with their prices & pedigrees, and if you're lucky a photo too, you'll find a link in the table below:
I really enjoyed the buzz of the three days. Everyone is very well behaved on the Friday, its a very civil crowd. Personally I thought the prices for the ridden geldings were a bit poor, but that the prices for the foals on Friday were pretty bouyant. Certainly everything I had put a ring round went for £300 more than I thought it would. As soon as I saw Mrs Bling looking round the last foal I had marked for the day, I thought I'd get outbid, and I did. Saturday got a bit more serious, but probably more bargains foal wise than the Friday. Some yearlings seemed a little under too. Sunday had a very traditional feel about it to me. If you were setting up or looking to inject a bit of extra quality into your stud, there were some really well bred animals going through for not that much. Plus a higher incidence of chestnuts with four white socks which I have been brainwashed by catalogue blurb into believing means the animal comes with a guarantee of driveablity. (Well they all should really shouldn't they?!?)
Re: PHOTO QUALITY
Well dear visitor I did my best. It was extremely hard. If it had been foul weather I think I would have been even more beat. The restrictions of an amateur site mean that I can't justify an outlay of £7,000 camera set up to take sufficient quality photos indoors. Sadly the donations made to the site don't normally cover my fuel costs and in the case of the Brightwell Sales, I have the added costs of catalogue & parking. I would hope that we are all sufficiently competent enough to be able to judge the animal beyond the photograph, but if you feel you would rather I removed the photo(s) of your lots, please send me an email & I will remove the photo.
Perhaps I could take this opportunity to offer a couple of suggestions to the vendors which would have a positive impact of your sale, as well as the photos:
LOT NUMBERS
Welsh cobs have lovely round bottoms, so if you place the lot number on the top of said bottom, only two entities can see it. I failed to see any basketball players in attendence & as regards the other; I hear He tried to obtain a buyers number, but was unable to prove who He was, or even if He was. Brightwells are very strict on these matters! So stick them to the side a little so we can all see them, I was asked LOTS OF TIMES to ID numbers for people viewing from the side lines.
THE PARADE
It may well be the case that you can't wait to be shot of your charge(s), but you have got to pretend for the duration of the distance from the stable to the indoor bit that you own the most wonderful exhibit the welsh cob world has ever seen which everyone deserves a look at. Make your way to the start of the railed off bit when the lots before yours are called, if this is to do with Brightwells staff not calling you down quick enough. If you drag you reluctant charge full tilt indoors, no-one will have a chance to be compelled to make a spontaneous purchase. (plus we'll all think you're trying to hide something - Same goes for mutiple holding. We'll always assume that the foal in the middle has got something pointing the wrong way). Stop en route & chat to your friends or strangers if you have none of the former. Talk to me if you want. But don't ask me if I'm Anthony Booth, I may have let myself go a bit, but I would like to think my gender is still identifiable! (And I don't work for the tax office either, which was suggested by someone. So you can all relax & tell your nans to stop knitting the balaclavas...)
