June 2020 Issue

Page 6 June 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Despite having only a few weeks to shift an in-person auction to an online auction, the 18th annual Penn State Equine Science Showcase and Quar- ter Horse Sale was a smashing success. Twelve horses sold for approximately $94,700, giving this sale the highest average sale price per horse in the program’s long history. Interested buyers could place bids on the horses throughout the week of April 27 and the bidding closed at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The top selling horse, PSU Nite to Be Ceen, sold for $12,000 with three more horses selling over the $10,000 mark. Brian Egan, assistant teach- ing professor of equine science and horse farm coordinator, said, “Three years ago we had our first horse sell for $10,000 through the auction format. To have the horses averaging close to $8,000 is fantastic for the program. It speaks to the quality of our hors- es and the work the students put into the sale.” Five student managers and about sixty other students worked from home to finalize the sale process. This group of two-year-old horses was the last group sired by the stallion PSU Dynamic Krymsun (Rocky). Next year’s horses are sired by different stallions who have been added to the herd since Rocky’s death. These include legendary One Hot Krymsun, an AQHA Leading Sire and NSBA Hall of Fame inductee, and Red White N Good, who has produced NSBA world champions and AQHA high point winners. Offspring of Penn-State born stallion, PSU He Rox the Nite, will also be available again next year. One part of the in-per- son event that was lost due to moving online was the annual silent auction to benefit the Ward Studebaker Endowment, which helps provide financial support for the horse farm. However, a silver belt buckle designed and produced for the program by Molly’s Custom Silver was auctioned off for $900 to make up for that loss. Professional Horse Services, LLC, ran the online auction service. “They were wonderful to work with and incredibly helpful. We had a tight turn- around time for moving every- thing online and we couldn’t have done it alone,” said senior animal science major Scarlett Loya, Washington, PA. The format of the 19th annu- al Equine Science Showcase and Quarter Horse Sale, to be held Saturday, May 1, 2021, is up for debate. “We’re open to trying the online auction again or perhaps a hybrid of both formats. We were pleasantly surprised by the success of this sale. The sale is always evolving and maybe this could be our next big leap,” Egan said. Penn State’s Online Auction Sets Record Average