Boston’s Mark Paul (18) Scoops Bargain at IX Leilăo Internacional Lusitano Auction in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Equestrian News Release
Sao Paulo, Brazil – May 25, 2006 – Mark Paul is perhaps not an archetypal 18-year-old. From Boston, MA, he’s single-mindedly striving to become a professional dressage rider, but not until he’s graduated from Johnson and Wales University with a major in Culinary Arts, fostering another dream to own his own restaurants. In the meantime, he’s combining his dressage passion with his love for Lusitano horses and will take home the well-bred Troll VO, a rising seven-year-old gray stallion –by Dragăo out of Navalha, by Visqueiro – from Sao Paolo.
The annual Leilăo Internacional Lusitano Auction, of which this is the IX edition, is hosted at the fabulous Coudelaria (stud farm) Ilha Verde of Victor Oliva. Buyers and spectators, from home and abroad, flock to this event, knowing it presents the best the Brazilian Lusitano market has to offer. On this occasion, 30 lots were consigned, the majority being young stallions, but with a few mares, broodmares, and a gelding.
With two huge wall-mounted screens at one end of the presentation arena, spectators could view horses in-hand and under saddle from all angles, as well as pre-recorded footage of them demonstrating their flamboyant paces at liberty in their home pastures. Dubbed the “Hollywood” of Lusitano auctions, there was plenty to eat and drink in order to keep the bidding arms well oiled and fueled! And, of course, no sale of this stature would be complete without the machine-gun patter of a knowledgeable auctioneer to keep the audience entertained and informed … in Portuguese, of course, although foreign visitors could take advantage of wireless headsets delivering a live translation in English.
Bidding was spirited from the outset, when Thor VO, a full brother to Mark Paul’s Troll, who was consigned by the auction’s host, Victor Oliva, went under the hammer for 74,000 reals ($33,500). Thor is considered to be one of the most impressive sons of Donaire, and is a full brother to Urbe VO who was the Grand Champion Young Stallion at the American National Exposition of Pure Blood Lusitanos in 2004. At this point, official colors were something of an education for me, because Thor, who could easily have passed for buckskin by Quarter Horse standards, was considered an exotic bay in the Lusitano studbook! Thor recently won the 2005 Brazilian Working Equitation Championships in the “Debutant B” category.
The stunning 20-year-old gray stallion Icaro, lot #9, was also sold with 40 doses of his own frozen semen, in deference to his advancing years. Born at the famous Andrade Stud Farm, one of the oldest in Portugal, Icaro is a son of the legendary Yacht, who died at the fine old age of 32, and was considered one of the best Lusitano reproducers of all time. Icaro himself has won championship honors to numerous to mention, but Victor Oliva said; “My hope, because of his quality, is to offer much-deserved continuity to his reproductive life,” as one of Ilha Verde’s foundation sires sold for what appeared to be a bargain at 42,000 reals ($19,000).
The highest bid of the afternoon was reserved for Sabre VO, a great-grandson of the legendary Lusitano progenitor, Yacht, who sold for 130,000 reals ($58,900) to John Winter from Hawaii, purchased by an agent on his behalf. This dark chestnut eight-year-old has already won many awards, including a Gold Medal at the 19th Annual Lusitano Exposition in 2000. Trained by Johan Zagers, Sabre VO is an extremely promising dressage prospect as demonstrated by his results in Medium Level I and II.
Mark Paul’s turn to bid arrived when lot #15 was announced and the stunning Troll VO entered the auction arena under the saddle of a presentation rider. Mark had ridden the stallion the previous day so his decision to purchase had already been made, assuming the price didn’t go beyond his predetermined budget. As it happened, luck was on his side as the auctioneer’s hammer came down at 40,000 reals ($18,100). Did Mark consider this a bargain; “He’s a great buy because everyone knows this auction has great horses. He [Troll] may not be the prettiest horse, but his bloodline guarantees that he has one of the best minds for dressage,” alongside which his paces are also pretty stunning.
Regularly trained by former U.S. international dressage rider Tom Noone – who represented his country at the 2001 World Cup final and has trained numerous horses up to Grand Prix level – Mark also relies on advice from Dr. Wolker Moritz to hone his skills. So far, Mark has already trained one U.S. purchased Lusitano up to Prix St. Georges level dressage, which he subsequently sold for a healthy profit in order to buy a Warmblood. Asked about his preference in dressage horses, Mark was quick to sing the praises of Lusitanos; “They have a heart that really cares about their rider, and cares about work.” He also proudly recalled the day when dressage judge Axel Steiner, who is not best known for being overly generous with his scores, awarded Mark a 61% for a Prix St. Georges test with his previous Lusitano.
It’s Mark’s third year attending this auction, following a chance meeting in 2002 at the American National Exposition of Pure Blood Lusitanos, in Austin Texas, with Director of the Brazilian Association for Pure-Bred Lusitano Horses, Raul Antonio de Maura Silva. This is the first time, however, that Mark will be heading home with a prized purchase, but he hopes it won’t be his last. His plan is to devote Troll’s energies to training and competing for a couple of years, “until he’s proven himself,” before making him available for breeding. Thereafter, Mark, who is acutely knowledgeable where Lusitano pedigrees are concerned, already has his eye on acquiring a couple of mares from specific bloodlines … and, who knows, perhaps he’ll be kick-starting his own Lusitano breeding operation in the U.S. with Brazilian-bred horses.
All 30 of the consigned horses were sold.
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Boston’s Mark Paul (18) Scoops Bargain at IX Leilăo Internacional Lusitano Auction in Sao Paulo, Brazil ~ EquestrianMag.com
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