Michałów’s monthly tender, organized during the last weekend of October, enjoyed great interest. Among those that turned up were breeders from Poland, as well as guests from abroad: Spain, Italy, Germany and Slovakia. They were drawn by an interesting and diverse offer, though some claimed that the purpose of their arrival was to taste Michałów’s renowned culinary specialty – a stewed dish made of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, meat and mushrooms – known in Polish as “bigos”.
Although the tender became an opportunity for a very pleasant social gathering, still everyone impatiently awaited the grand finale, especially the revealing of the reserve prices for the offered horses. It is no secret that tenders are great places for bargain hunting. Who knows, perhaps there will be a possibility to secure a good horse for an exceptionally good price?
As it turned out, the prices remained at the expected levels. The participants of the Autumn Sale at Janów Podlaski surely remember that the reserve price for the offered at the Saturday tender mare El Arba (Al Maaram – Emanda/Ecaho) was at the time 20 thousand euro (the mare did not find a buyer). This time she was sold – for 80 thousand Polish Zlotys (PLN), a similar amount for the one asked before. The second highest price of the tender was achieved by the mare Eryka (Eukaliptus – Emilda/Pamir) – 50 thousand PLN. Apart from these renowned broodmares also two young mares changed owners – Złota Gra (Gaspar – Złota Gaza/Gazal Al Shaqab) for 5,500 PLN and Pantera (Ekstern – Pampa/Gazal Al Shaqab) for 18 thousand PLN. The offered stallions did not find buyers or did not achieve their reserve price. The prices for geldings oscillated between 2 and 10.5 thousand PLN. The total number of horses sold – 27.
As Director Białobok said, it was a successful tender. “Mares always sell slowly, usually over the course of the year”, he explains. “The fastest sellers are saddle horses, mainly for the German and Italian market.” It is worth emphasizing that the tenders are open for everyone, which isn’t obvious to all, especially foreign clients. “Foreign guests have the same right to participate as domestic buyers”, confirms the director. “We have sold horses during tenders to Scandinavian countries and England. Once a tender purchase was made by Shirley Watts.” What kind of horses are offered at tenders? Usually those which are very suitable for breeding, but have some flaws, for example are blind in one eye. “The August auction at Janów Podlaski abides by its own, different rules”, explains Jerzy Białobok. “It’s a prestigious event during which horses are bought under the flashes of cameras. So the offer must be close to perfect. Meanwhile we also have renowned horses, which can still successfully be active in
breeding, but which for example due to their age struggle with certain problems. I think that this is a chance for those collectors who want to purchase a high quality horse, but don’t necessarily have a bag full of money at their disposal. It is better to sell a horse with a flaw – which of course is publicly announced – directly from the stud than during the Janów sale.”
It should be added that the Michałów tender was a sort of crowning event of an “Arabian week”, which consisted of breeding inspections at three State Studs: Michałów, Białka and Janów Podlaski.
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