Romi’s Going The Extra Yard
A key but largely unheralded “backroom” player at this week’s National 2yo Sale at the TBA sales complex in Gosforth Park will be Yard Manager Romi Bettison. Happy horses and content providers are Romi’s responsibility.
Romi – always smiling and ready to make a great sale (Image – Candies Lenferna)
The lifelong rider with a varied horse resume has been in her current post for two years and told the Sporting Post she works with the very experienced and capable Heavy Mabanga to ensure vendors are happy, horses are comfortable, and the duo are on hand to solve any problems if necessary.
“We take care of all the horses that arrive and depart on the trucks and make sure their stables are in order. We have our own supply of feed and bedding for the suppliers that you can order to make everything as easy as possible. Vets, blacksmiths and even laundry services can be arranged. I organize the paperwork and passports before the National Horseracing Authority arrives. Heather Morkel is the front-of-house manager to ensure buyers are organized and happy, with accommodation and transport organized,” explains the enthusiastic 29-year-old.
She goes on to say that former veteran coach Alistair Gordon is responsible for customer care and hospitality.
“Also you can find Alistair out in the yard checking all the horses for BSA. Then Fiso Hadebe is a jack of all trades; Of course he is one of our up-and-coming young auctioneers. He also assists me in the run up to the sale in the courtyard as well as Michael Holmes and the rest of the team in preparing the auction ring etc in the auditorium. Ashley de Klerk runs the show in the office, from accounts to buyer card applications to website updates. Elvada Van Zyl is the manager of the complex and takes care of the site with Heavy between sales to ensure maintenance is carried out and the stables are cleaned before the next sale.”
Not a one-trick pony, Romi runs BSA marketing alongside her equine photography business.
She excitedly told us that the first 2-year-olds arrived last Thursday and the last arrived on Sunday evening.
“Buyers could start viewing from Friday when six farms arrived. Those who prefer to wait until all the horses have arrived can view the entire catalog from Monday. The farm looks great and is ready to go thanks to the team who have worked hard making sure the stables are ready, the walkways harrowed and the gardens tended.”
As with previous offerings, the Enchanted Garden is open each day for complimentary breakfast and lunch. There will also be an Equifeeds sponsored dinner at the Enchanted Garden on Thursday evening.
“We are delighted to welcome everyone to the complex for what we believe will be a great sale. After all the stimulus announced by the industry in the last month or so, I think the vibe around the complex is very positive. I also think this catalog is incredibly strong with some wonderful pedigrees for buyers to look at.”
Romi, who has a keen eye for decent specimens, says she’s seen some strong-looking individuals while photographing the farms for sale.
“I think the 2022 BSA Incentives has also been a wonderful initiative and we’ve definitely had a very positive response to it. The 100 bonuses paid out for last season were amazing and we’ve only had good feedback. I’m sure next season will be even better when the 100 bonuses are increased to R100,000!”
She highlighted the great results from the 2YO Auction graduates in August 2021, including Canadian Summer, who won the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes, and Paul Peter’s Maharanee, winner of the Gr2 4Racing SA Fillies Nursery.
“The whole BSA team is looking forward to a great sale – hopefully another record breaking one! We will see! If you are unable to attend please remember that we will be streaming the sale on the BSA website, Facebook and YouTube and the Zoom platform will be available for online bidding. Please contact Ashley de Klerk for more information on this. We wish all our breeders good luck with the sale!” she concluded.
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Lot by lot
As Romi says, with all the recent good news announcements for racing, there is great expectation among sellers and buyers ahead of the BSA August Two Year Old Sale which will be held at the TBA sales complex in Germiston on Friday 26th August and Saturday 27th. August.
The Western Cape has led the field over the past month with a slew of positive news that is likely to have whetted the general appetite for existing and new owners. The boosted 2yo program, announced last week ahead of the Cape Summer season, is also an attractive carrot for buyers in this sale.
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