Mark Him Sold!

The new owner is Juli S. Thorson. Naming rights went with the sale. His name is Wordsmith, which is pretty cool. He will keep his appropriate barn name Smitty. And he will fit into Juli's writing career. There is a lesson to be learned here. Although, my background is marketing, sometimes we miss the obvious. As we are thinking about who our potential buyer is and how to promote this colt to his maximum potential. We begin to define whether he will be a stallion, halter prospect, rider or all around horse. Then we look to where we will attract the new buyer. Usually we have a list we will send pictures to when the baby fills out a little more. As sellers, sometimes we miss our market by looking past our market. Sometimes our buyers are in our own backyard or in this case our family.
Juli had been dropping hints about owning an Appaloosa again. She had a specific criteria her horse would have to meet. Color and conformation were the features that opened the door. Disposition and talent were just as important. Sometimes we hear something different than what people are telling us. I heard, "...good looking rider with color...an older horse." We usually sell ours as babies and yearlings. I wasn't sure we would be able to fill her needs from our stock, unless she bought it from someone else, after it had proven itself to be sound and sane, but who can resist a baby? A lesson to be learned here! Don't look past your market.
This is the perfect sale on so many levels. As we get older and our family and friends become more treasured, we have one more connection that brings us closer together. We couldn't be happier. Maybe he will be a mascot or maybe Juli will let us stand in the win picture! Maybe he will make it to the cover of a national magazine...a girl can dream. If he just lives a great life in her pasture with her other pampered ponies, we will be just as happy. Smitty's story is just beginning, but I suspect this horse tale will have a happy ending as well.