Last Friday in Wellington, Florida, the five-year-old KWPN-approved stallion Fabriano VDL (Casall out of Bleu Chin N by Chin Chin, breeder: J.C.H. Nuyens of Limmen) commanded the top selling price in the Winter Equestrian Festival's sporthorse auction: $400,000. The grey Casall son will be used as a breeding stallion and a hunter. “Fabriano wasn't at the Stallion Competition final because he came here,” explained Janko van de Lageweg of VDL Stud. “They were all crazy about him here. He's a top hunter.”

On a flight with numerous other VDL horses, Fabriano VDL arrived in sunny Florida just prior to the sporthorse auction, which has offered the Van de Lageweg family's horses for four consecutive years. The first edition of the auction was held four years ago in Ocala, Florida, after which it was moved to the more southern city of Wellington, the winter mecca of international show jumping. In cooperation with the Winter Equestrian Festival organizers, VDL Stud horses are offered to the public through the first class auction.

The Dutch-bred horses are popular with Americans, who are pleased that the Van de Lageweg family is willing to send their horses all the way to Florida. Among their satisfied long-time customers is Vicky Castegren of Hyperion Stud. “VDL has a very good understanding of the needs of their clients in the United States. And their horses exceed expectations time and again,” said Castegren, a leading breeder in the United States. “Training young horses is a major investment, and we don't really have the culture for that. VDL understands that and listens to us because they no longer bring their very young horses but older ones with more experience. And ultimately, that's what we want here. We want to buy a horse that can start going to shows right away.” Compared to other horses in the auction, Fabriano VDL was one of the youngest. But his new owner Visse Wedell doesn't mind. “I'm a real estate agent, and I visited our stand at the WEF, next to the VIP tent. That's where I saw a video of Fabriano in the lounge, and I immediately fell in love with him,” she explained. “I showed the video to my trainer and several friends who know a lot about breeding, and they all agreed that this would be a one-of-a-kind horse and among the best breeding stallions in America.” Wedell only bid on Fabriano VDL. “He was the only one I wanted, not because the other horses weren't good enough but because he has everything I was looking for. I didn't even ride him because I know how well the VDL team trains and prepares their horses. I'm so very thankful that VDL brought a stallion of this caliber to the United States,” said a happy Wedell.

Other VDL horses also sold for good prices. Among them was VDL De Beers (Douglas VDL out of Zheriludine S ster by Mermus R, breeder: H. van der Scheer of Kamperveen), who fetched $190,000. VDL Dorusino (Harley VDL out of Venus by Indorado, breeder: T. van Diepen of Marknesse) brought $195,000. Another approved stallion, Everglade VDL (Kashmir van Schuttershof out of Adea elite sport-jump by Indoctro, breeder: the Luimstra family of Surhuizum), sold for $115,000. The average selling price was $136,666.

Dinette Neuteboom for the KWPN Photo of Fabriano VDL: Sandra Nieuwendijk