Henrik Klatte is well known for breeding class and stands the super stallion, 26 year old Argentinus who has been breeding superstars for many years but there is no question that his stallion son Arko III is the one who has sparked even greater interest in breeding to Argentinus.

Henrik and Otto Vaske received excellent reviews after their first Foal Auction in 2005 and this years event was even bigger and more impressive with the qualityof foals being exceptional.

The following report comes to us from ESI but there have been some interesting developments since this report - the extraordinary price of euro130,000 was paid for the five month old full brother to Arko III and although initial reports suggested that the foal would be staying in Germany it has now been revealed that John and Lisa Hales have purchased the younger brother of their premier stallion and he will be arriving in the UK in a few weeks time.

John Hales, President of the British Showjumping Association, has been calling for investors to spend the big money to buy quality horses for British Showjumpers to bring them back to the top of the sport - and he is obviously not afraid to put his money where his mouth is!

Mr Hales was very secretive about his interest in the 5month old colt and his purchase was done anonymously with all at the Auction suggesting that it was an American buyer who was going to keep the young fellow in Germany - but this weeks Horse and Hound has revealed the truth about the buyer! John is delighted and was quoted as saying he "just couldn't let Arko's brother go to the opposition" - there is no doubt that John and Lisa Hales are determined to make sure that British Showjumping does not have the excuse that they "have no horsepower to challenge for the great tournaments of the world" - this father and daughter are on a buying spree and Britain will be the happy recipients of such passion for the sport.

This exceptional youngster, weaned on the day of the sale, now has a new name - write it down somewhere safe and remember it because Rako will more than likely be the one collecting the main prizes at the big shows in the next 8 to 10 years.

Nearly 666,000 Euro in total / Gut Einhaus in Herzlake purchases the highest priced foal / 14 foals bring over 10,000 Euro each

Klein Roscharden. You could even hear a slight tremble in the voice of the auctioneer, Hendrik Schulze-Rückkamp, at the second ESI Foals Auction. Arko ESI caused this experienced auctioneer to sweat a bit at his lectern. Within just seconds, offers climbed to 50,000 Euro and two minutes later, the 100,000 Euro mark was broken. When asked to describe what happened, the organizers, Otto Vaske and Henrik Klatte, could only say "It was incredible". But that was not the end yet. Just a short time later, the record set in Vechta just two weeks ago of 110,000 Euro for a Warmblood foal was toppled. In the end, Ansgar Holtgers from Gut Einhaus in Herzlake held his breath the longest. He received the knock-down only when the incredible sum of 130,000 Euro was reached. The spectators in Klein Roscharden couldn't stay in their seats any longer and, of course, Vaske and Klatte rushed to personally congratulate Holtgers.

Arko ESI seemd hardly phased by the beautifully decorated auction ring. With Argentinus x Beach Boy in his pedigree, this full brother of Arko III, who is presently the most successful jumper in the world, cantered a few more rounds through the hall as if nothing had happened. The breeder of this magnificent specimen with an Oldenburg brand is Peter Schütt from Schardebühl and he was obviously pleased with the result, saying "It's great that Arko III's full brother was sold here at the ESI Auction". More than ten interested buyers from six countries had their eye on Arko ESI, but he'll be staying in the direct neighborhood. Mr. and Mr. Holtgers, who also own Marcus Ehning's top horse, Gitania, organized a first class, international show jumping competition at Gut Einhaus for the first time this year.

All in all, sales totalled 548,700 Euro for the 51 foals offered. Fourteen of the youngsters were knocked-down for 10,000 Euro or more and four even brought a price of more than 20,000 Euro. The average price ranged at 10,758 Euro. The second most expensive foal was a colt by Quidam de Revel out of an Argentinus dam who sold for 28,500 Euro. He will be going to a large stud farm in the Netherlands. A filly named Sevilla (Sandro Boy x Grannus) will be taking the farthest trip to her new home. She was sold to Colombia for 23,000 Euro. Marc Ostendorf from the German Studfarm FAMOS certainly had his hands full. He purchased eight foals for his English friend who owns EROS EQUESTRIAN LTD via his mobile phone. The highest prices were mainly achieved by well-known bloodlines and seldom combinations of genes, explained Otto Vaske in an interview. The number of buyers from abroad - around 40 percent - was also quite large this year.

For the very first time, the auction lot also included eight broodmares in foal. Sales totaled 107,500 Euro for the broodmares with 18,000 Euro the highest price and an average price of 13,437 Euro, making this novel event a success. Miss Moneypenny (Montender x Argentinus) and Erina (Abke x Contango) were the top priced broodmares, both selling for 18,000 Euro.

By the time the auction was over, Henrik Klatte and Otto Vaske were both in a very good mood. "At our first foal auction in 2005, the highest price was 15,000 Euro. We topped that by eight times - it's almost unbelievable!" At the same time, the average price rose by more than 50 percent. With that kind of result, Elite Sales International has risen to become one of the top addresses when it comes to marketing horses.

The next auction in Klein Roscharden, which will be for riding horses, will be held in April 2007. The duo received much praise from the exhibitors of the foals for their effort: "A first class and unique marketing platform for foals with pedigrees emphasizing jumping has been created here. Keep up the good work!"

Pictured above - Rako, the 5 month old full brother to Arko III - so this what euro130,000 buys you - very impressive young man and one who will no doubt fulfill his potential judging by the shape he makes and the obvious fact that he is doing this "for fun"!

Photo courtesy: Zughoff Klatte