When you are looking for a Spanish horse it is tempting to travel to Spain to make your selection from the vast number of horses produced there.
There is no doubt – It simply can not be done with out adding significant cost to the buying price of your horse.
You might say …….”I’ll get a better horse in Spain than in the US…., it will compensates for the extra money and planning the whole process takes”…. Well, that may or may not be so. Much like “beauty” – “better” too is in the eye of the beholder. You might think…. “Who would pass up the adventure and the stories to be told that will result from such a trip”. No doubt it’s an unforgettable experience that can be rewarding for years or equally not so great when the excitement dies down. These are some of the subjective aspects of the question and they are hard to quantify individually and impossible to quantify across the board.
Less difficult to quantify are travel costs including airfare, hotel, rental car, fuel, food, communication, etc…… for how many weeks? If in this time frame you find the right horse you will have the additional expenses involved in bringing your purchase back to the USA, including veterinary fees, ground transportation, board in Spain, international transport, quarantine fees, ground transport in the US, the organization process etc…. which all go above and beyond the purchase price.
You may have a contact person in Spain whom you trust to guide you to the right farms, to advise you or translate for you. Remember the locals have the advantage and are likely to deal with each other personally or professionally more often where as the foreign buyer comes and goes. All too often the same horse is offered for significantly more to the foreign buyer. Keep in mind that your international buying adventure is just as exciting for the seller(s) to brag about later as it is for you. The higher the sales price the greater the commission your contact will earn from the deal. Although you may be told you are being taken around quite altruistically the likely hood of that is extremely low and the further south you travel the greater the likely hood is that the commission is paid out twice, both by the buyer and seller.
Buying a P.R.E. horse from Coves Darden Farm USA has clear advantages.
- Miguel Coves, owner of Coves Darden farm was born and raised in Spain. His experience with the P.R.E. in it’s country of origin is extensive. So in affect you are buying a Spanish horse from a Spanish breeder albeit without the additional import costs.
- All Coves Darden’s breeding stock, both Stallions and Broodmares are imported from Spain.
- Probably the highest concentration of “Qualified breeding stock” owned by any one breeder in the USA is found at Coves Darden Farm. As of 2013, nine Broodmares and three Stallions. Chances are that outnumbers many of the breeders in Spain as well.
- Reasonable prices for the quality offered.
- Local breeder in local national economy
- Multiple horses to choose from. Ranging in age from weanlings through horses under saddle.
- Amateur friendly horses as well as FEI material horses.
- Variety of coat colors, temperament and type to choose from.
- Various levels of Dressage training.
- Spanish hospitality
