“It is always a gamble with foals, but if you then have a good one, then you also have something very special that you can no longer get as a four-year-old!”

Buyer: Chris van Dam

1. Why did Bonne Chance appeal to you at the auction at the time?
“It was a very appealing and strong foal to see. A real Baloubet with many white markings and a strong canter.”

2. What was Bonne Chance like as a young horse?
“She was a very special, sensitive mare. I had her together with Sijbrand and Titia Iwema. She was reared at their Flevofarm trotters stud farm. As a foal, Bonne Chance already had an incredible amount of character. She could suddenly fly at you in the meadow. We have bred another colt from her by the stallion Vaillant. This jumped very well and looked a lot like his mother. Unfortunately, he died in the meadow.”

3. How was Bonne Chance's education?
“Bonne Chance was saddle-broken and then Soraya Niessen entered her as a young horse at competitions. She was not the easiest to deal with and you had to be alert. I remember that we had a clinic at our stable in the run-up to Outdoor Gelderland. Marc Houtzager unsuspectingly took off her blanket. She reacted like a diva and you saw her thinking: Shall I lash out or not? (see picture). Herman Seiger bought her when she was five years old. With him she was released by Steven Veldhuis. As a six-year-old she was sold to her current rider Janika Sprunger.”

4. Did Bonne Chance live up to your expectations?
“She more than lived up to my expectations. You can see the quality in a foal, but you have no idea whether they will live up to it. If you buy ten, you can write off two and with the rest you just have to see how they grow up and whether they make it in the sport. Bonne Chance is a phenomenal performer at the very highest international level.”

5. Was it exciting at the time with bidding?
“I was quite practical in the auction, because I was part of the organization at the time. I had selected three or four foals in advance that I was interested in. Bonne Chance was pretty much at the top of this list.

After the auction, I was still chatting with Cees van den Oetelaar. He told me that I had bought a good foal, but that it was certainly not the best. I thought to myself: I bought the wrong one, because actually I went on bidding longer than I normally do. € 14,500 I thought was a lot of money. Now in retrospect, I was very lucky with such a topper and she was well worth it.”

6. Do you advise people to buy a foal at the Foal Auction Prinsjesdag? Why buy a foal and not a three or four year old?
“I personally really enjoy buying a foal at an auction. I'm having fun watching it grow up and see if you saw its potential right back then. I think you can spread your chances by buying a number of foals. 15 years ago, the Prinsjesdag auction set a strict course to admit only foals from proven stocks.

The pre-selection is very strict and the selection committee really hunts for the very best. If the committee members have to go abroad for this, they will do so. The auction is also very innovative, now with embryos for example. It is always a gamble with foals, but if you then have a good one, then you also have something very special that you can no longer get as a four-year-old!”

read HERE the interview with breeder Harry van Loon.

read HERE the interview with amazon Janika Sprunger.