The Seventh Annual InterContinental Sport Horse Auction was held on Sunday, February 14, 2010, and received rave reviews from its crowd of over 300 bidders during the hugely successful evening. Olympian Nona Garson hosted the event at The Ridge Farm in Wellington, FL, where horsemen of all disciplines gathered to bid on the wonderful selection of top-quality horses.

The evening began with an exhibition by Rick Steed of Steed Training in Okeechobee, FL. Steed delighted the auction crowd with a bridleless freestyle reining performance on his stunning eight-year-old Quarter Horse mare, Choco Latte Lena. Kim Tudor and her team at Tudor & Company, who worked the pink and red Valentine's Day theme into the tent decor, produced the VIP Hospitality and creative aspects of the event. Der Dau-branded cocktail bars were positioned at either end of the tent and Creative Affairs of Pompano Beach catered the event.

During the event, three guests were delighted with their raffle prizes from raffle sponsors Der Dau and Michael Angelo Salon. The prizes included a $750 Der Dau Gift Certificate as well as a custom leather handbag, and a $350 gift basket and certificates for services at the Michael Angelo salon.

Guests in attendance at this year's auction included Debi and Lou Dobbs; Hal, Kathy and, Michele Kamine; Shanette Barth-Cohen; Glenn and Duck Martin; Alan Korotkin; Greta Heimbold of Paragon Farm; Elizabeth Niemi; Sandra Kelly of Stepping Stone Farm; Loretta Manion-Birde; Nicole and Will Simpson; Katrina Woods; Ed Copeland; Jennifer and Billy Glass; and Douglas Mutch.

The auction got under way with 31 horses hand-selected by Garson to be presented for bidding. Auctioneer Tim Jennings of Professional Auction Services, Inc., of Berryville, VA, handled the event magnificently. Six horses were presented under saddle and over fences in the ring next to the auction tent for bidders to view their talents.

Videos were also shown of all the horses as they were presented for auction and each horse had a set of digital x-rays and graded flexions. The horses were available to be ridden the week before the auction, so many guests came ready to bid on these excellent horses and take them home.

Sonia Zuger was the winning bidder of Valentine, a nine-year-old German Warmblood Pony. "My daughter rode the pony and really enjoyed her," she noted. "She's got a lot of quality, and we think they're going to be very successful in the future."

"I think the auction was very successful," she added. "There are really good prices for really quality horses and ponies."

The winning bidder of Jakondo, a four-year-old Rheinlander, was Holly White who attended the event with Jack and Josee Stedding of Driftwood Stables. "I have the sister that is just a year older than Jakondo," said White. "I've had her for about a month now, and I really like her; she's been great in the jumper ring. I didn't plan on buying a horse tonight but Jakondo seemed like a great opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I'm very excited, and I think he's going to be really nice horse."

White continued, "I think that tonight's auction was a great success. Everyone had a good time and there was a great turnout. I think it is nice because it's right in Wellington and everybody knows one another. We had a lot of nice, reputable breeder horses available this year as well."

Garson founded the InterContinental Sport Horse Auction seven years ago with the hope of bringing a European-style auction to America, and each year she has achieved that goal. Through a careful selection process only top-quality horses are available for bidding, and the preview process allows buyers to be comfortable with the horses they are interested in purchasing.

"I think we had a great event this year," smiled Garson. "We sold over half of the horses. I think everybody had a good time, and I'm very happy with the result."

For more information about the InterContinental Sport Horse Auction, please visit www.interconsporthorse.com.