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March 9th, 2009 -
An event to remember
When the 25 stallions, six mares and three
geldings initially settled into the permanent stalls at The Jim
Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the
second annual Lusitano Collection Auction on February 12, 2009,
the buzz among Auction attendees had already begun. Armed with a
pen and the pre Auction Catalogue, women and men wearing riding
boots studied each horse and tried to get a reading on others
standing or sitting nearby. Have you been to other Collection
Auctions? How many tryout appointments did you make? Do you have
a favorite?
The trainers and riders from Interagro Farm and
Coudelaria Rocas de Vouga began to familiarize the horses with
the tryout arenas and main covered arena where the Showcase and
Auction would be held while workers continued setting up tents,
screens, lighting and sound systems. The catering staff from
Christafaro’s in West Palm Beach bustled about setting up their
wares while the Uruguayan Champagne and wine sponsors, Champagne
Las Rosas and De Lucca and Pizzorno Wines, filled the bar.
Additional sponsors provided materials and set up booths: Cantor
& Webb P. A. Attorneys at Law, an award-winning firm which
represents high net worth international private clients in tax
estate planning, wealth preservation and real property and
commercial matters; Lazcar International, family-owned and
operated specialists in shipping livestock worldwide; Palm Beach
Equine Clinic, a 24-hour full service veterinary and surgical
facility with offices throughout the USA; The Palm Beach Post,
a respected daily newspaper in Palm Beach County and the
Treasure Coast; and Wellington Magazine, a high gloss
publication featuring stories about the people and events in the
Wellington area.
During the riding tryouts, the Lusitanos
accepted one rider after another with the patient temperament
for which they are known. Potential buyers from Canada and from
all over the USA began to share their personal stories more
freely. A law professor from Georgia who knew Heather Bender,
the Interagro Farm training consultant, was looking for a new
horse; she rode a Lusitano for the first time ever and found
them “so steady, sensitive in a good way ...with an ease of
connection and lightness.” A couple from California was
returning after buying three horses from previous Lusitano
Collection Auctions. Another rider, a woman from the Midwest who
owned an Interagro stallion and boarded several other Collection
Lusitanos at her facility, knew Heather and had come to see the
offerings. One of Interagro Farm’s most loyal clients, an
elegant lady from Pennsylvania, returned with her trainer after
purchasing six horses in 2008. (She eventually took home four
horses this year!)
The Welcoming Reception with the Showcase
Parade of Horses was held on Thursday evening, February 19, from
5-8pm. Two USA Bronze dressage team medalists from the 1992
Olympics, Carol Lavell and Mike Poulin, arrived early to spend a
moment with Heather before she had to ride. The two Olympians
also met Juan Matute, member of the 2008 Olympic Spanish
dressage team.
The evening began with a freestyle performance
by 2008 Brazilian dressage team member Luiza Tavares de Almeida
who at 16 was the youngest person to ever ride in the Olympics.
Horses trotted and cantered around the ring in twos and threes
during the Showcase in front of a giant flat screen which showed
each horse running free and being ridden when in Brazil. The
closing act was a pair of stunning Robinson Lusitano driving
horses fitted in shining harnesses with Peter Van Borst,
American representative for Interagro Farm, in the driving seat
accompanied by his lovely daughter Thea and his adorable Jack
Russell, Toby. William Robinson, the largest Lusitano breeder in
the USA, has bought and imported approximately 30 horses from
Interagro Farm.
The Auction was held the following evening, and
people dressed up for the affair. The wine, champagne and liquor
flowed, guests mingled in the lounge area and many visited the
sponsors’ booths. The 2009 Lusitano Collection® honored two
charitable recipients this year with a portion of the proceeds
from the sale of tickets going to The Jim Brandon Equestrian
Center and The American Cancer Society, which held a Silent
Auction. To add to ACS’s bounty, the jeweler Judith Ripka
generously created an exclusive necklace specifically for the
silent auction.
At 6:30pm, guests were directed through the
giant wooden doors past sconces into a black carpeted hacienda
where a fountain rippled amid lush plants. Beneath soft lighting
provided by iron chandeliers hanging from the tent poles, wicker
chairs were tucked under white cloth tables set with candles and
white-roses. Six-foot-tall propane heaters provided some relief
from the chilly evening, which dipped down to 52 degrees. The
room quickly heated up when five bronze-skinned voluptuous women
wearing colorful headdresses and bikinis with thongs entered
with fanfare. Accompanied by “The Rhythm Beaters,” men who
create a pulsating, contagious beat with their drums, the samba
dancers smiled and gyrated in the center of the room. After
dancing with willing guests and parading around the tables (Several
men were seen taking photos of the women from behind with their
cell phones!), the samba dancers left, and the guests were ready
to get down to business.
Auctioneer Paul Martin handled the bidding with
three bid spotters who helped recognize the bidders and
encourage them on. Claudia Anderson, the Master of Ceremonies
introduced each horse and rider while the horse’s image flashed
on the giant 11ft by 20ft inflatable screen. Bidders kept
looking at one of the two flat screens which kept a running
tally on the high bid. Martin’s rapid-fire repetition, “do I
hear “40…40…40?” along with the assistants raising two fingers,
three fingers, indicating thousands of dollars, drove buyers to
confer in haste whether to bid so they could clinch the deal.
Once Martin banged his hammer and pronounced, “sold,” guests
breathed once more and the rise in energy quickly climbed as
another horse was brought in.
One of the most amusing moments came when Alter
Interagro, the 16-hand bay stallion, who was being ridden by
Heather Bender, suddenly noticed that an image of him running
was being displayed on the giant screen! Alter stopped dead in
his tracks and stood at full attention, totally focused on
watching himself. He would have remained there had the rider not
gently asked him to move on.
There was a tie for the highest bid horse:
Alcacer Interagro and Xenocrates Interagro shared the honor.
During the two hours of bidding and cajoling, worried faces and
smiles of glee, guests intermittedly dipped pita and flat breads
into cous cous caviar, Moroccan caponata, hummus and spinach
artichoke and roasted garlic and eggplant dips. They also
nibbled on sliced herb and pepper encrusted dry salamis and
grilled vegetables. When the Auction concluded, the waiters
served a duo plate of braised baby beef Osso Bucco in a savory
Merlot reduction and pan seared grouper with roasted lemon
tapenade on a bed of mushroom and wild rice flan along side a steamed
asparagus bundle
The piece d’resistance dessert was a bombe
glace with raspberry, coconut and passion fruit sorbets
garnished with a horse motif. Wine and champagne flowed freely.
Cecilia Gonzaga and her father, Paulo Gonzaga,
moved through the room to congratulate those who had bought
their horses and posed for photographs. Manuel Tavares de
Almeida visited tables to greet his buyers, and he, too, posed
for pictures. Smiles abounded. When the riders, trainers and
staff entered the tent to join the guests, the event had turned
into a fabulous party, a festival of joy and celebration. Each
2009 buyer was given a copy of Dr. Paulo Gonzaga’s fifth book,
The Lusitano Horse, Basic Lineages Volume I. The energy felt
under the tent that evening seemed to derive from the passion
and magic Dr. Gonzaga writes about the Lusitano in his book, O
Cavalo Lusitano. “They are strong, vigorous horses, obedient,
generous of character, agile, and articulate, elegant, distinct
and arrogant, proud, lordly and noble of spirit; they are also
docile, intelligent and submissive, easy to teach for every
horse activity….Such characteristics make the Lusitano the best
saddle horse in the world.”
Quietly munching hay in their stalls, the
Auction horses would soon be transported to their new homes to
become acquainted with their first owners. Together, each 2009
Lusitano Collection® horse and his owner will become partners on
a personal journey, whether it be the show ring, pleasure,
breeding or jumping. The Lusitano Collection® looks forward to
hearing about everyone’s experiences and sharing them with
others in the Collection Family.
The Lusitano Collection Team
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