WHEN 42 lots go under the hammer in Wagga on December 10 it could arguably be one of the largest single-vendor horse sales in Australia.
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Illabo horse breeder Andrew Sheridan will host the second Shero’s Australian Stock Horse Stud Open Day and Sale at Charles Sturt University.
Mr Sheridan – who started breeding horses in 2000 – has a plan to not only sell potential buyers quality genetics but also provide a platform for entertainment and education.
He has drawn on some of the skills from Australia’s most accomplished competitors including Ben Hall, Mat Holz, Ron Wall and Emma O’Shea to share their knowledge at the upcoming event.
Ben Hall is a Queensland campdrafter who has won the Warwick Gold Cup on three occasions and the family name of Hall is synonymous with achieving excellence in the industry.
“I think this is something Wagga needed – this area has such a strong interest in horses – my aim is to establish an event that has longevity,” he said.
The wet winter conditions may have created some challenges but Mr Sheridan said the abundance of spring feed was certainly welcome.
“My aim is to establish a different way of selling horses, we will have a helmsman auction and the geldings don’t have a reserve,” he said.
Mr Sheridan said there was a big demand for well-bred horses that allowed people to compete and have fun at weekend events.
“We want people to end up with the right horses and we are targeting repeat buyers,” he said.
At the centre of the Illabo breeding program is a stallion called Traditional Acres. Traditional Acres is sired by one of Australia’s most influential Quarter Horse sires Acres Destiny.
“The plan is to breed versatile horses … having this horse (Traditional Acres) in the program is making a big difference,” he said.
Mr Sheridan said it was difficult to gauge the market but he estimated prices could range from $2000 through to $25,000.
He said aside from building a platform to sell his home bred horses the sale in Wagga was something the region needed.
Traditionally large scale horse sales have been isolated to northern NSW and Queensland.
Mr Sheridan said it was clearly evident that interest in a variety of horse events was growing at a fast rate.
“Campdrafting has been growing at 17 per cent a year (in terms of uptake of members),” he said.
“If you drive around the Riverina you will notice that every second paddock has a horse.”