Four auctions, €13.6 million in sales, buyers from 25 countries and graduates now jumping Nations Cups and World Championships. Ballypatrick runs one of the most trusted online horse auctions in Europe — and the buyers who do best at it all follow the same simple sequence.
1. Register before the catalogue is revealed
Bidding runs online through ballypatrickauctions.com, powered by ClipMyHorse.TV. Registration is free and takes two minutes — no ID verification and no deposit. Buyers who register the night the auction opens routinely miss the horse they came for. Register now and you are set for every Ballypatrick auction.
2. Shortlist with your head, not just your heart
Each lot page gives you the full picture: multiple photos, jumping and flatwork video, the pedigree, Greg Broderick's own assessment and the opening bid. Save the horses that fit your brief with the heart icon — your watch list syncs across devices and we will e-mail you when bidding opens on those lots. Three to five horses is the right size for a shortlist; one is a gamble, ten is noise.
3. Read the vetting, watch the videos, study the pedigree — then ask
Every horse is vetted by an independent veterinarian before the catalogue goes live. The vetting, the videos and the pedigree are published on every lot page, with X-rays where provided. Have your own vet read the report. If anything is unclear, press "Ask about this horse" on the lot page; you will speak to the people who ride the horse every day. Buyers can also arrange to see horses at Ballypatrick in the two weeks before the auction.
4. Set your ceiling the day before
Write down the maximum you will pay for each shortlisted horse, including transport and insurance. In 2025 the average lot sold for €172,000 and the top prices came across every age category — a 3-year-old with a world-class damline attracts the same competition as a 1.45m horse. A ceiling set in advance turns the final minutes from a panic into a decision you have already made.
5. Bidding: how the clock works
Lots close in sequence, two minutes apart. Any bid in the final minutes extends that lot's clock, so there is no "sniping" — the horse goes to whoever is genuinely willing to pay more. Use the pre-bid (maximum bid) feature if you cannot be at your screen; the system bids for you only as far as needed.
6. After the hammer
You receive the invoice within 24 hours. Once paid, the Ballypatrick team can arrange export papers, passport transfer and transport to the UK, mainland Europe and the United States — these are extra to the hammer price and we will quote before you bid if you ask. Insurance can be bound from the moment the hammer falls.
Why buy this way rather than privately?
Transparency. The same information is given to every bidder, the price is set by the market rather than a negotiation, and the horse's history is documented. BP Othello (Lot 9, 2022, bought as a 3-year-old) took silver at the World Breeding Championships in Lanaken in 2025. BP Lady Masterpiece (Lot 3, 2025) won at 1.30m and jumped double-clear in a Grand Prix at Thunderbird within a year. BP Arctic Blue (Lot 1, 2023) went straight into Shane Breen's string and placed 3rd in the Grand Prix at Addington. Those buyers did nothing magical: they registered early, read the files and set their number.
