Horse Center Sets Records in Auction

The W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center raised a record-breaking $241,860 dollars last month by selling nine horses through an online auction.

The total was the most raised by the horse center since it began holding public horse auctions in August 2015. In addition, the average sales price for the horses was more than double than in recent years.

John Lambert, the center’s executive director, attributed the auction’s success to a “perfect storm” of factors, including good horse breeding at the center over the years, expanded promotional efforts, and fewer Arabian horses available for sale, which helped increase prices.

“We’re very pleased that the buyers wanted a part of the Kellogg legacy,” Lambert said. “We’ve worked hard to promote our horses and build relationships and trust within the horse industry.”

The horse center was also aided by the recent success of Cal Poly Pomona-bred horses at the U.S. Arabian & Half Arabian National Championships, the most prestigious Arabian horse show in North America.

Cal Poly Pomona-bred horses took home two national championships, three reserve national championships, and four Top 10 awards.

“The industry now has a sense they can buy good high-quality horses from Cal Poly Pomona,” Lambert said.

One horse – CP CoCo Chanel – sold for $100,000, the first time a sales price has reached six figures during a Cal Poly Pomona auction.

The other horses sold included:

• CP Bright Fire:  $47,100
• CP Metropolis:  $46,000
• CP Fred Ast Heir:  $14,600
• CP Bolero:  $13,800
• CP Benedicto:  $7,500
• CP Cordelia:  $4,710
• CP Last Dance:  $4,650
• CP Mesmmerize: $3,500

Several factors played into the wide difference in prices that the horses fetched, Lambert said.

“The difference is the top-level horses have the potential to compete at the highest levels. Not all horses can do that,” he said. “The top two horses were young females, so they also have the ability to be a breeding horse.”

Lambert spent a lot of time promoting the horses prior to the auction, talking with prospective buyers, horse trainers, and other industry figures at horse shows.

Many of the horses can trace their bloodlines back to the original Arabian horse herd that cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg owned and raised on his Pomona ranch, which is now the Cal Poly Pomona campus.

In addition, the center ramped up its promotional efforts, especially on social media, posting videos of each of the horses that were up for sale.

The center sells horses like any breeding farm. However, it employs a public auction process instead of private sales to ensure transparency and fair market pricing.

The horses were auctioned through an eBay-like auction format managed by The Arabian Horse Times. Bidders had a week to place offers and could see others’ bids during that time.

All proceeds from the auctions go to support the horse center’s student programs and the horses’ essential needs.