Equine auction guide

Whether you are new to buying or selling with Brightwells, we would like to welcome you and hope this simple guide may be of some help. Whether you choose to read all or none of it when you come to one of our events you can get all the support you need by approaching any member of Brightwells’ staff and explaining that you are new to our auctions. Our team will gladly help you through the simple processes.

Buying Your Horse or Pony

Brightwells’ Equine Sales involve numerous categories, all of which are fully detailed on our website. Auctions are an exciting way of buying and Brightwells make the process as easy as possible whilst providing the surety of a 150 year old nationally recognised company. The following is a simple guide to getting the most from your visit to Brightwells.

Prior to attending a particular sale

• Order an auction catalogue through our website. Here you will find the list of entries being offered for sale; these are known as lots, each lot having its own particular number.
• All lots are sold in £ sterling. Be aware of the Buyers Premium that is added to the hammer price. Plus check with our staff if you have any queries.
• All horses are sold under our usual conditions of sale, each individual sale has its own set of conditions, you can download this information from the website.
• Be sure to turn up on the sale day well in advance of the likely time of sale of your lot number. This will give you plenty of opportunity to inspect the lot you may be interested in as well as to register as a potential buyer. Remember if you have any difficulty, any member of staff will be on hand to help.

At the Auction

• In order to successfully bid you will need to register prior to the commencement of some of our sales, please check with our staff which sales this is necessary at. This is a simple process, and you may register at the cash office. A deposit of £500 will be required at our Welsh Pony & Cobs sales unless you have a form of identification with you that verifies your name and address to the Auctioneers.
• Payments can be made by cash (up to £9,000), bankers draft, credit or debit card. Credit cards attract a 3% bank surcharge.
• Check the timing of the sale. Most of our sales last for several hours. Take a guide from our staff about when your lot number may come under the hammer (up for sale) but remember this is only a guide, so leave yourself some extra time.
• If you are completely new to auctions, ensure you listen to other lots being sold so that you can get used to the bidding process. During the sale our auctioneer will call out the lot number of the horse being sold and the bidding will start. Our clients have many different ways of signalling a bid, some of which are more eccentric than others! The easy way is to clearly raise your hand or nodding is fine for those who are slightly more confident. Don’t worry about the possibility of accidentally having a bid taken when it wasn’t intended, our auctioneers are very experienced and as well as the normal signal our auctioneers are looking for eye contact.
• In a busy auction and particularly where the bids are progressing quickly, make sure your gestures are confident enough to attract the auctioneer’s attention. If the auctioneer is busy with two bidders, don’t worry, as soon as one of those two bidders drops out he will look round the room to check for other interested parties. If the bidding is still below your limit this will be your chance!
• When the auctioneer considers there are no higher bids, he will close the process, normally by banging a small hammer on his rostrum and will ask you for your buyers number or at some sales a representative will ask you to complete a Buyers Form for your details.
• When you have successfully concluded bidding on your lot or lots, return to the cash office where you can pay for your purchase and obtain the necessary release documentation to allow you to take your purchase away.
• Vetting of horses - A Veterinary Surgeon is in attendance at all of our sales. The veterinary procedure differs at all of our sales and you will need to familiarise yourself with this before the Sale. Full details can be found in the catalogue and on our website or our office staff will be happy to help.

Selling Your Horse or Pony Valuing your Horse

• In all of our Horse Sales you may register with us the lowest price you are prepared to accept for your horse or pony, this is called a reserve.
• You may wish for one of our auctioneers to assist you in determining the value of your horse. You can ring us to discuss what values similar horses to yours are selling for, which should give you a good idea of what to expect.

When you Decide to Sell

• Obtain the dates of forthcoming sales.
• Obtain an entry form to be completed with your details and the horse’s details for entry into the catalogue and return it by the closing date of the sale.
• Decide your reserve price, if you feel it is appropriate to have one.
• All horses are sold under our usual conditions of sale, each individual sale has its own set of conditions, you can download this information from the website.
• Be sure that you have checked the sale details for commission charges and entry fees and bear in mind that VAT is chargeable on both these items.
• On arriving at the sale the horses passport must be presented to the gate steward and you will be given the lot number of the horse in exchange.
• If your horse is sold and the buyer wishes to have it vetted at the time of sale, you must be present while the vetting is being carried out in case any problems are found and the horse fails the vet. If so, the sale will fall through and you will therefore take the horse home. You will need to collect a Not Sold Pass from the Office.
• Finally, if you are unfortunate not to sell your horse you will need to obtain a Not Sold Pass from the Sales Office to take the horse from the premises and don’t forget to collect your passport at the same time. We hope that this brief guide is of help to you, contact us either by emailing us or by telephoning 01568 619777. Whether you are a buyer or seller we do hope that your auction experience with Brightwells is enjoyable and fruitful.