Online vs live horse auctions: which should you use?
Both formats sell top horses. The right one depends on how far you are from the collection — and how you judge a horse.
A decade ago, buying a sporthorse at auction meant sitting in the ring. Today more than half the sales on our calendar are partly or fully online, and international buyers routinely buy foals and horses they have never seen in person. Each format has real advantages.
Online auctions
Online sales run over several days on the auction house's platform, with videos, photos and vet reports published for every lot.
Pros: bid from anywhere; several days to study lots and consult your vet; no travel costs; the full vet set is usually online; closing times extend automatically so you cannot be beaten by a last-second bid you never saw.
Cons: you judge the horse from video; no trial ride; atmosphere and competitive urgency are easy to underestimate when clicking from your sofa.
Live auctions
The classic evening auction — foal presentations, an auctioneer, a crowd.
Pros: you see the horses in the flesh, often over collection days where riding horses can be tried; you can talk to breeders and the auction team directly; price discovery is transparent in the room.
Cons: travel; decisions happen in minutes; if you cannot attend, you depend on phone bidding.
Hybrid: the current standard
Most elite European sales are now hybrid: a live event with internet and phone bidding running simultaneously. Recent hybrid foal sales have reported buyers from 15+ countries in a single evening — locals in the room, the rest online. If you are abroad, a hybrid sale gives you a live market's quality with an online sale's access.
Buying well from a screen
Stick to houses with a track record — the established names on our calendar publish full vet reports and have reputations to protect.
Have your own vet read the X-rays before you bid; good houses expect this.
Read the conditions of sale for premium, VAT, and when risk transfers.
Watch one sale on the platform before you bid in earnest, to learn its rhythm.
You can filter the calendar by format — see all online and hybrid sales — and every listing links straight to the auction house that runs the sale.