Since 1926 the high-end department store retailer, Neiman-Marcus, has produced a holiday catalog of luxurious gifts. This year, the catalog included items such as a life-size Lego sculpture ($60,000), a limited edition motorcycle ($110,000), a tourmaline ring dating from the Renaissance era ($45,000), and a three-hole backyard golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus ($1 million-plus).
Though the horse world doesn’t publish a similar catalog, it’s not difficult to come up with some dreamy gifts. If you’d like to get a leg up on owning a race horse, you can breed to Smarty Jones, the winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby, for $100,000. Of course, you’d have to elbow your way past shareholders in the young stallion. Are baubles more to your liking? A Fifth Ave. jewelry store in New York recently listed a brooch of two horses trotting side-by-side. Encrusted with pave diamonds set in platinum, and featuring saddles made of sapphires, emeralds and rubies, the 1 ¾” pin cost a cool $16,000. Want something more practical? For a designer look in the show ring, ask Santa for some custom made apparel. By browsing online, it appears that Santa needs to urge his elves into overdrive. A custom made showmanship jacket costs approximately $450-$650 (additional Swarovski crystals and pearls are extra). Tailored hunt coats, made from your choice of scrumptious wool fabrics and contrasting satin linings, run about $650-$800.
Thankfully, we know that the best gifts don’t cost a sleigh full of money. What could be more welcomed than a whinny from the barn on a frosty day?
