Sale review 2012 september 29

FAYRE OAKS SALE, 29th & 30th September 2012 312 of the 465 Welsh ponies sections A and B and part-breds offered at the Brightwells 59th Fayre Oaks Sale on the Royal Welsh Showground sold for a total of £205,778 averaging £660 which was higher than last year’s average of £650 and only slightly down on the 2010 average of £671.

29 ponies were sold to Holland, 17 to France, 5 to Spain, 2 to Germany and one to the U.S.A. This is the first time ever that an unbroken three-year-old section A gelding has topped the Sale; this was Cosford Stud’s grey Cosford Challenger (pictured below) sired by the Stud’s Knodishall Gwillym who is still siring top ponies despite his 22 years. Many of the Cosford ponies from Bengad-bred mares have been leading lights under saddle at major Shows including the 2009 Horse of the Year Show champion Cosford Chartreuse. Challenger was bought for £7,200 by Mr Barron of Thirsk.

There was good demand for the top section A mares, Sandy Anderson’s seven-year-old Thistledown Islle by Waxwing Victory was stunning and she sold for £4,200 to Mrs Hughes of Dolhelfa, Llangurig. The three top mares on the High Flyer Sale were Ceri Fell’s nine-year-old Popsters Jaleesa sold to Mrs Bunting of Goldgener, Essex for £3,500, Ann Overton-Ablitt’s ridden five-year-old mare Colne Tinkerbelle sold to Mrs Murphy of Keith, Morayshire for £3,800 and the ridden Carylmai Quest from Caryl Oldfield of Mold sold for £2,000 to Mrs Gatrell of Billericay. Outside the High Flyer Sale, the five-year-old Abergavenny Andrea, daughter of the many-times champion Ceulan Menna from the Morgan family of Crumlin sold for £2,050 to Mrs Tait of Aberdeen. Another five-year-old Sunwillow Orphir sold for £1,600 to Royal Welsh Show commentator Christopher Jones of Rhandirmwyn. Two ridden ponies were the van Praagh family’s four-year-old Colne Tiger Lilly sold to Mr Deary of Co Durham for £2,000 and the six-year-old Larapinta Siskin sold by Helen Boulton of Cardigan to Mr Gardiner of East Sussex for £1,500.

Top section A stallion on the High Flyer Sale was Sandy Anderson’s ten-year-old Westonpark Towy who was imported from Australia and has been used successfully for many years at the Thistledown Stud; he fetched £2,600 to go to another Anderson family at Peterhead, Aberdeen. The next top section A stallion was the sixyear-old black well-known show winner from Gwynedd, Bethel Selwyn bred and owned by Eifion Williams and he sold for £1,950 to Mrs Spoor of Doncaster; one of his black daughters Moelwyn Bonnie sold to Spain. Tony Tilley’s bay yearling colt Tiffwyl Magnate, grandson of Royal Welsh champion Tiffwyl Melodi, sold to Brian Taylor of Treforest for £1,200 and Patsy Gibbon’s three-year-old colt Tyfel Zorro, bearing a remarkable resemblance to his famous sire Blackhill Picalo, sold for £1,100 to the Lucas family of Capel Hendre, Ammanford.

Leslie Owen of Newborough, Anglesey sold the filly foal Trehwfa Tiara by Penboeth Bandit for £2,000 to Mr Wilson of Turiff and bought the black colt foal Penboeth Blackjack from Francis and Sally Goggin of Merthyr Tydfil for £1,650. Alan and Jan Pearce of St Clears had £1,500 for the chestnut filly foal Glyncoch Siaradus from Gwilym Howatson of Llansannan who won the Royal Welsh youngstock championship this year with Colne Tornado which he had bought on the 2009 Fayre Oaks Sale. WPCS Past-President Elwyn Davies sold a filly foal Eppynt Victoria Pendleton descended from RW champions Eppynt Skyline and Eppynt Victoria to Henrie Leeuwenhaag of Holland for £1,300 and Miss Wilson of Denbigh had £1,000 for her filly foal Boothsdale Hedwig from Mr Hayward of Uxbridge.

Star amongst the section B’s was Robert Hensby’s cream colt foal Laithehill Wild Wind sired by Laithehill Oberon who has topped the Royal Welsh sire ratings and progeny groups five times and sired many previous Fayre Oaks Sale toppers; he was bought by Gretchen Aitken of Oregon for £3,400 and will no doubt be much heard of in America in years to come. A yearling colt of similar colour Hilin Invictus from Betws-y-Coed sold for £2,800 to Mrs Clarke of Northwich; Invictus is by the same sire as Hilin Tatoo, this year’s Royal Welsh Show male champion. Hilin Stud also sold a chestnut filly foal Hilin Can-yr-Awel sired by their Royal Welsh champion Hilin Carnedd for £1,400 to Miss Prior of Whitby and David Williams of Bala sold a grey filly foal Moelgarnedd Menna sired by Moelgarnedd Hebog who sold for the top price here last year, for £1,300 to Mr Jones of Holyhead. A well-known winner, the eleven-year-old mare Linksbury Solitaire from the Landon family of Kidwelly went to Yorkshire bought by Mr Beaumont for £3,000. The bay Dutch-bred yearling filly from the Hoeke family, Hoekhorst Jasmin was top section B on the High Flyer Sale at £3,100 and was bought by Lefebvre Anais of France and the same family also sold the three-year-old colt Hilin Cappiello to former Royal Welsh Lady Ambassador Lucinda Dargavel of Morriston for £1,500.

In addition to the star gelding Cosford Challenger, other geldings which sold well were Mrs Clark’s four-year-old ridden chestnut section B Gwithian Geraint which sold for £3,200 to Serena Parkhouse of Hereford, Miss Hibbert’s three-year-old grey gelding Laithehill Pageant which sold for £2,700 to Mrs Hoare of Newbury, the locally-bred three-year-old section A Llanafanfawr Banter who has a whole string of in-hand winnings to his credit and sold for £1,900 to leading ridden exhibitor Debbie Barr of Lewes and Mr Buckley’s four-year-old chestnut Waitwith Windfall, already winner of ridden championships which sold to Mr Bufton of Llanddewi for £1,200. Stewart Franklin of Cullompton, Devon sold the three-year-old Sarum Rio, who has won many championships this year shown by champion young handler Chris Stansfield, for £1,500 to Mr Hoare of Newbury.

The skewbald six-year-old gelding Doylan Honey Gift (pictured right by Equinational) whose brother Doylan Anouska’s Gift was 2nd at last year’s Horse Of The Year Show, topped the Welsh part-breds at £3,000 from Miss Howarth of Appleby. Jane Edwards’ palomino yearling colt Sarnau Golden Spiral, champion earlier at Northleach, sold for £2,400 to Erik Koele of Wezep, Holland and the three-year-old bay gelding Heatherton Candyman from Pembrokeshire established breeders Miss Vaughan and Mrs Rees sold for £2,200 to Mrs Hayden of Hailsham. The Rees family of Meidrim sold the three-year-old skewbald filly Small-Land Colour Code, whose full-sister qualified for HOYS this year, to Anne Robinson of Rawdon for £2,000. The Wilson family of Gelligaer whose daughters have won countless ridden prizes sold the outgrown eight-year-old bay mare Helsington Lucky Star for £1,500 to Mrs Sage of Canterbury and Mrs David’s three-year-old tobiano filly Thelonghouse First Edition went to France, sold for £1,450 to Sarl le Ronceray.

Dr Wynne Davies MBE