leadup to the auction, and X-Rays for all horses will be available for viewing. Andy believes that the endeavor is an ideal way to scout a wide array of prospects, both conveniently and affordably.
LEFT: ALTEZZA DU JARDIN WAS THE SALE TOPPER OF THE INAUGURAL ANDY KOCHER SPORT HORSE AUCTION. RIGHT: ANDY GALLOPED “CLIFFORD THE BIG RED HORSE” ON THE RACETRACK BEFORE BUYING HIM FOR HIMSELF, RETRAINING THE THOROUGHBRED FOR THE SHOW RING AND SELLING HIM TO HIS FATHER, KELLY. KELLY, AND LATER PETE JORDAN, PRODUCED THE CHESTNUT UP TO THE GRAND PRIX LEVEL BEFORE ANDY BOUGHT HIM BACK AGAIN FOR A CLIENT.
sale will exclusively feature horses ages five and younger and, in addition to lots from Kocher’s personal string, the auction will accept the top five young prospects in the local area. Individuals may register to bid now at Auction.AndyKocher.com. Among the lots will be young horses by the likes of prominent stallions such as Emerald, Numero Uno, Indoctro, Ukato, Diamant de Semilly, Nabab de Reve, and Oh Star, as well as Upton’s Damokles and Kocher’s Westminster VDL.
“There’s a lot of breeding going on in America, and I think it will be really good if we can run these kinds of auctions and get in touch with other breeders. These are good avenues for breeders to sell horses and a good avenue for people to buy horses that are busy showing, training, and giving lessons,” Andy said. “We’re going to try to do a lot of the leg work and find horses from local breeders.” As with the first auction, prospective buyers will have the opportunity to arrange a trial with the available horses in the
“We’re going to sell good, young horses for good prices,” he said. “Buyers will be saving a lot of money in a lot of ways—from veterinary expenses, to traveling around the country and the world. You don’t have to fly young horses over from Europe, and leading up to the sale, buyers will have every opportunity to touch and feel the horses and see what they’re getting. The breeders can get sales directly, without having to send horses to a sale barn or a training barn. It’s cutting commissions out. Everybody’s saving money, which drives down the prices of the horses.” After more than 20 years in the industry, Andy Kocher is far from afraid of trying something new. Not to mention, he’s still just excited about selling a horse as he was when he began the endeavor in his teenage years. “If you’re looking for a nice prospect, you can go to one online website and look at 20 nice horses, 5-year-olds and younger,” he said. “Where can you do that anywhere else in America?” ◼