Featured In AHT Abroad - Issue #1
Midwest Marketing—Thriving In A Globalized Industry
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IDWEST MARKETING
Thriving In A Globalized Industry by JEFF WA LLAC E and THER ESA CARD AMONE
We sat down with Mi dwest Training and Breeding Stations founder David Boggs to find out what has kept Midwest on the cutting edge of the Ara bian Market for dec ades.
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M
IDWEST MARKETING
Thriving In A Globalized Industry by JEFF WALLACE and THERESA CARDAMONE
We sat down with Midwest Training and Breeding Stations founder David Boggs to find out what has kept Midwest on the cutting edge of the Arabian Market for decades.
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For over 30 years, Midwest Training and Breeding Stations have set the pace for marketing the world’s finest Arabian horses. According to Midwest founder David Boggs, the formula is simple. “Surround yourself with the very best horses, prepare and condition them in the very best way, and give people a reason to come visit Midwest,” he professes. There are two crucial and constant elements to his continued success. First, high quality horses are the basic ingredients that never change. Second, the celebrated atmosphere of family, fellowship, and fun that truly identifies Team Midwest is carefully cultivated in ways that can nurture some clients for decades while still drawing in fresh new faces. Boggs explains, “We’ve always had presentations of our horses and open houses where people feel welcome. They bring true passion for the horses and are excited and proud to be part of the breed and to be sharing the experience. That puts the pressure on us to fulfill their expectations when they see their first Midwest horse …, we deliver the quality that we promise.” And deliver they do. Horses at Midwest are hand picked, one by one, from every corner of the globe. “We negotiate, sometimes very strongly and diligently, just to acquire them, to gather them together here
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in Scottsdale as a collection,” David continues. “It’s a constant search to always have the best of the best of each age group and each gender. It is an ongoing work in progress each day, one that’s very exciting, very thrilling. The global hunt never stops. But that’s fine by me. Besides being my livelihood and my business, my passion and my hobby is Arabian horses. Other than my children, whom the Lord has blessed me with, the Arabian horse is the very heartbeat of who I am.” David feels blessed to have attracted and marketed many millions of dollars’ worth of horses over the years. He syndicated Padron for $11 million in less than 90 days, and had another great year when he sold DA Valentino, Da Vinci FM, two $1,000,000 yearling colts and other great stallions, and some very famous, world class mares. “Quite frankly,” Boggs said, “My dream has always been for Midwest to be known as a Tiffany’s and not a K-Mart. My family owns horses for riding and my children have their ponies and geldings we have fun with. But normally, one doesn’t come to Midwest in search of a riding horse. With limited space, our mission is being the caretakers of the really high end halter and breeding horses.”
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The recent Midwest event on the annual Scottsdale Farm Tour is the perfect example of their successful style of marketing. The 650 visitors were all treated as special guests, enjoyed lunch, and were shown 40 of the most spectacular horses on earth in just under two hours. More than 50 business cards left by enthusiastic potential clients will be used to diligently follow up to provide further information and set up appointments to meet the horses up close and personal. Discerning each person’s unique needs is crucial as some may be breeders collecting certain pedigrees, while some want to buy a show horse just for fun. At Midwest, managing the follow-up means individual personal contact from Boggs or his assistant Nate White whenever there is an inquiry. Most of the prospective and existing clients are totally un-like-minded people from all different businesses, ages, and facets of life. The only passion that they share, their common bond, is their love of Arabian horses and how much they enjoy them. “Most people have ‘real jobs’ and purchase horses with disposable income,” David explained. “When they are around the horses, they love to enjoy the atmosphere, the fun, and the fellowship of Midwest. I would say for 80% of our clients, that’s why they’re in it, for that fellowship and fun and the lifestyle it offers them, and for 20% it’s the showing. Horse shows are nerve-wracking, there’s a lot of stress, and it’s a very competitive environment. It’s really nice to get back to the farm, put your blue jeans on, and just hang out together and enjoy the horses with friends.” The thrill of competition gives way to a convivial atmosphere of satisfaction. “We like to do things with the families, BBQs, afternoon socials, and bonfires in the evening. We present horses under the lights. These things are just for fun and people enjoy them together. We go through 100 pounds of carrots every week, because for most Midwest owners, it’s a hands-on thing. Continuing the education, discussing pedigrees, discussing the future plans for their horse, and enjoying it all over a coffee or a cocktail makes it something fun. It’s a relaxing atmosphere.” Midwest manages to maintain the strong in-person camaraderie that people are drawn to while embracing change by increasing access to their sales list to qualified buyers in the global market. Boggs considers
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technology to be a great blessing to the marketing of the Arabian horse. Today, a high percentage of the horses that Midwest sells are marketed online, to foreign buyers in particular. They can look at a horse’s videos, vet reports, radiographs, and other documents upon request, online. Increased access seems to be helping the industry as a whole and continues to shape the breed. “The European/Middle East market is becoming bigger and bigger each year and the style of horse we love in the United States is closer now to the style of horse they love in Europe,” he related. “It’s really become a global enterprise where we’re sharing horses from different countries. Take for example, a horse like *Kahil Al Shaqab, who was a World Champion Stallion in Paris, stood for breeding in Europe, and has just arrived at Midwest. He is now in the U.S. market and is very popular. Or the noted *Hariry Al Shaqab who won every major title there was to win at the United States Nationals, Scottsdale, and Las Vegas World Cup before he went back to Europe and was recently named the World Champion Stallion in Paris. A globalized industry makes it easier to share horses and share bloodlines.”
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Maintaining the Midwest website is critical to keep information current for all. But Midwest also believes in the power of print in journals like Arabian Horse Times. To David, exposure is critical. “We update our website and ads all the time so that the industry, the local community, and the world know that we have fine animals available for sale. Sometimes a horse is there for a day and it sells, and there are some that have been here a year and have not sold. So, I don’t think there’s a crystal ball.” According to David, the easiest horses to market are the best up-and-coming yearling fillies and colts in the months leading up to the Scottsdale and Las Vegas World Cup shows. The classes swell to 60-100 fillies vying for the prestigious win and in some cases, great prize money in the Signature and Auction programs. This opens the door to a hot secondary market of the very finest yearlings, many of which are sold on speculation. “They may sell one, or two, or three times prior to the gate opening, so the market for those young babies is always strong,” David says. Hence the never-ending search for the next great offering. “When it gets to late summer or fall, we’re already traveling the globe lining up the Scottsdale yearlings” he continues. “Currently at Midwest, we probably have 20 to 25 spectacular individuals of various bloodlines of that age.” There are many factors at play that determine how long it will take to prepare each horse for sale. Because the horses arrive in various degrees of condition, each timeline is variable. And the price will be set based upon the horse in ultimate condition. The biggest single factor in determining value of any horse is quality. Boggs explains, “A high quality horse always attracts interest. If you want to ask a reasonable price, you have to have that horse in top condition and it has to learn how to be presented. It takes time to condition and prepare. You don’t put a house on the market without first grooming the landscaping or giving it a paint job. The horse, too, will have to be prepared for marketing.” Another huge submarket for Midwest has always included the management of breeding stallions. Whether marketing multi-million dollar superstars like *Padron, Bey Shah+, Fame VF, Magnum Psyche,
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DA Valentino, *Pogrom, and Baahir El Marwan, or marketing huge amounts of breeding income from today’s giants: *Kahil Al Shaqab, * Baha AA, *Hariry Al Shaqab, Vitorio TO, Aria Impresario, and Conquest BR, great breeding stallions are great for business. Boggs and his team take his position as breeder very seriously. “I think that Midwest is probably the largest breeding station in the world today,” he remarked. “If you add up the satellites and the frozen semen stations for marketing semen abroad, as well as what we breed and ship out of the United States here, Midwest is high on the list. This is a really wonderful thing and a great opportunity for the stallions. Before Vitorio TO went to Michalów State Stud in Poland, he had the opportunity to breed one hundred and fifty plus mares here in the United States, and then at the State Stud Farm in Poland, he had the opportunity to cover many of the most beautiful Polish mares at Michalów over the last two years. This has given Vitorio a tremendous boost now, returning to the Unites States and going into the 2016-breeding season.” Easy shipment of semen makes the stallions more valuable, because they are more accessible to people in all corners of the world. David thinks that it is necessary to shine a bigger spotlight on junior stallions and colts that need to be given a chance. “The senior stallions and top-producing stallions sell A HT A BROA D
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many, many, more breeding’s, making them even more valuable,” Boggs explains. “Sometimes it’s hard for a young colt to get his foot in the door. We give specials and introductory fees that are extremely reasonable, sometimes to the very, very best stallions. I remember when Magnum Psyche was a yearling; His introductory fee was $1,500 to allow more breeders an opportunity to use him. Now, his $10,000 breeding fee is one of the highest in the industry. Because his fee is higher, the number of mares bred is fewer, but he’s earned that status. At 20 years old, instead of breeding huge volumes, he’s breeding very special and select mares like World Champion Kwestura … he’s going to breed some of the top mares throughout the world.” David and his team at Midwest remain vigilant about orchestrating what comes next in their marketing strategy. The incredible success and spread of the top sire lines Midwest has promoted prompts them to look for a next step. David’s beloved *Padron founded an entire dynasty whose blood is so prevalent; it appears in a huge percentage of today’s pedigrees. For Boggs, that is cause for the next adventure, finding the perfect outcross. “We are excited about *Kahil Al Shaqab and also *Baha AA, both of whom are a complete outcross with no Padron blood, and it makes them extremely popular. *Kahil has six crosses to the immortal *Bask. It’s such an honor, and you feel the presence of his grandsires
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when you’re around him. As breeders and entrepreneurs, we’re just beginning to try this cross of Padron, Padrons Psyche, Magnum Psyche, and WH Justice with *Kahil, *Baha, Conquest and the new stallions of Midwest, to create the next generation of super stars. It’s fascinating and cause for excitement and a rebirth of passion. Going right back to what I said earlier, for me the Arabian horse is as much a hobby as it is a livelihood, it is my passion and it is a labor of love.”
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