Elite Veulenveiling Borculo
A tradition of excellence since 1979
The National Elite Auction Foundation Borculo proudly bears its name. Since 1979, Borculo — the foal auction of the Netherlands — has been a household name in equestrian sports. In many ways, the Borculo Foal Auction was the first of its kind, and not without reason is it considered the premier league of Dutch foal auctions.
In the early years, the only requirement for a foal to be selected was the standard of first premium. At some point, the auction became national, and we traveled throughout the country to view foals at breeders' homes. That was a big job, and the numbers kept growing, as Borculo was the only foal auction at the time. We decided to turn things around and have the breeders come to us. We organized selection days at three locations throughout the country.
Professional Growth
The selection will become stricter over time, but according to Nijhof it had still not reached the current standard of quality for foal selection.
"Forty years ago breeding was very different. Inspection performances played a much larger role, and we primarily selected for attractive types, good movements, and strong dam lines. Today, we prefer a foal from a line with sport performance history. The trend has completely changed. Where people used to travel across the country to find good foals, they now rely on the quality of the foal auction collections. We're also seeing an increased level of professionalism in the organization, and more foals are being auctioned, spread across a jumping and a dressage day."
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For years, Borculo has been the only foal auction in the country, and that's sparking interest from other parties. Nijhof Sr. says:
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"Piet Meinen called to ask if he could copy his work. That was no problem for us. He wanted to organize a foal auction in Midden-Beemster. Competition has increased considerably now as we're no longer the only foal auction."
Tradition Plus Innovation
The Borculo National Elite Auction Foundation proudly bears its name. Since 1979, Borculo, the premier foal auction in the Netherlands, has been a household name in the equestrian world. In many ways, the Borculo Foal Auction is the first, and not without reason, the premier league of Dutch foal auctions. This is partly due to the organization's constant focus on innovation. Since 2020, the organization has been managed by Excel Equine Events, an organization with extensive experience organizing successful auctions.
As of 2025, the auction is being managed by one of Hollands most prestigious horse professionals, Reesink Horses, neighbors and lifetime advocates of the Borculo Foal Auction. With that change also comes the integration of a premier auction company and platform, HORSE24.
Foal Selection
Jacques Verkerk was a member of the selection committee from 1999 to 2017 and explains that selectors are now on the road 24/7 to find the right foals.
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“Breeders no longer hold on to their foals for a specific auction. It’s a matter of being quick. That used to be different with well-known breeders Huub and Tiny van Helvoirt. We had the first pick there and were allowed to select the best foals from their fantastic broodmare line. At their stables in Rosmalen, we came across, among others, the KWPN stallion Zuidenwind and NMK champions Zhara-Obertje, D.Obertje, and Andy.”
Where Legends Are Discovered
Verkerk also holds fond memories of the later KWPN stallion Ampère and says:
“Ampère was truly a phenomenon, the way he presented himself out in the field at De Radstake, right near the statue of Amor. Kremlin MD, the champion of the 2018 KWPN Stallion Show, also made a spectacular impression during the first selection round. As the process continued, he grew slightly away from what we were aiming for.”
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“Still, he eventually lived up to the expectations. With colt foals, the goal has always been to find future stallion licensing candidates. The fillies had to be at least of ‘ster’ quality — although we also managed to discover a few NMK champions.”
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Over the years, it has almost become tradition: an impressive number of future top-level sport horses have been sold at the Borculo Foal Auction. For an overview, click here.
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In more recent years, new auction concepts have been introduced by Foal Auction Borculo. Of course, the Borculo Elite Foal Auction remains the flagship, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019.