ENGLISH TEXTS
€ 15,000 to € 12,000. At Haras de Beaumont, the popular Intello is advertised at € 7,000 instead of € 8,000. Many other examples could be cited.“ The crisis may have the advantage of making covering fees more rational,” analyses Nicolas Simon.“ Over the past twenty years they have doubled or tripled, and stallions start out far too expensive. Stallion masters have begun to lower their prices, but not enough yet!” Damien and Bruno Vagne have made two decisions. First, they invest whenever a good opportunity arises in shares in stallions or breeding rights. Their stakes can multiply if the sire proves successful, and above all it avoids paying covering fees every year. Unfortunately, a support scheme from France Galop, which reimbursed breeders for interest on loans taken out to acquire breeding stock, has just been abolished.“ For stallions in which we don’ t own shares, we decided not to exceed a fee of € 10,000,” explains Damien.“ The difference between our investment and more expensive coverings helps us finance the operating costs of our young horses. We lower production costs in order to invest in breaking-in and training.” NH racing has just come out of a golden period during which foreign buyers raided paddocks, buying foals and yearlings at generous prices. This manna has partly dried up and the prices offered are no longer the same. Breeders’ premiums on foreign races have also been abolished … Breeders are therefore paying closer attention to covering fees.“ There was a speculative bubble and everything was distorted by trade,” comments Pascal Noue.“ It went too far, too fast. Some mares objectively do not deserve to be bred, and we will all be forced to be more selective.” French breeding may emerge with fewer mares, but probably with a better overall level.
Making Do Breeders are trying to adapt to the new economic reality. Laurence Gagneux takes in Italian trotting mares for the breeding season,“ they keep the pot boiling.” She could not bring herself to part with her uncovered mares, so she has kept them and continues to vaccinate them every six months.“ We’ re going into dormancy, but we’ re not laying down our arms!” The breeder of Diamond Carl is also preparing to put some of her boarders into training, those she did not sell. Many breeders are in this situation, hoping to see their protégés shine on the racecourses in order to achieve good sales afterwards, as the market for proven performers is stronger than ever.“ There are still very positive things,” says Nicolas de Chambure, owner of Haras d’ Étreham, which stands flat stallions, while the operation’ s NH sires are based at Haras de la Tuilerie in the Orne. Among them are the highly sought-after Goliath du Berlais and Masked
Marvel.“ The French brand remains strong and demand is sustained for good racehorses. But there is a lack of French owners able to invest between € 20,000 and € 80,000, and France Galop absolutely must work to recruit them. JNH racing is undergoing a transformation that flat racing is still in the process of making: finding syndication solutions to race horses instead of selling them cheaply on an increasingly selective yearling market. Rather than selling at a loss, they take the risk of carrying their horses further by finding partners. The biggest jump breeders have been doing this for a long time. Those with fewer means or less volume will have to adopt this approach and adapt. But we must not think that breeding no longer makes sense simply because our way of marketing is changing.” Nicolas de Chambure is working on the creation of an online horse syndication platform, with the support of an auction agency and possibly the Fédération des Éleveurs. Everyone could offer their young horses or broodmares there within a professional and secure framework.“ It might help breeders who lack a network, and brokers and owners might like to use it,” concludes Nicolas de Chambure.
WHEN CATTLE TAKE THE LEAD
Happy are the breeders who, in addition to horses,
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