Ray White Epic Horse Sale and Campdraft: 15-hand mare One Moore Gift sells for $30,000

An “exceptional” draw of horses saw increased prices at the Ray White Epic Horse Sale and Campdraft, including a record average price for mares.

StockLive manager Libby Hufton filming competitive campdrafting action at the Ray White Epic Horse Sale and Campdraft.

Averages for mares lifted by more than $5000 to reach an event record of $10,566 at the Ray White Epic Horse Sale and Campdraft this month.

The yearly event has been running since 2016, but was cancelled last year due to coronavirus.

Chestnut mare One Moore Gift, which is 15-hands-high and was offered by TC and LE McArthy, sold for $30,000.

In a first for the event, the entire sale and campdraft was simulcast so people from all corners of the nation could view the action at the Armidale Exhibition Centre in NSW.

Vendor Warwick Lawrence with the top-selling horse sold via StockLive, Hunter View Rhyme, which made for $27,000 at the Ray White Epic Horse Sale and Campdraft.

The top-selling horse bought online was Hunter View Rhyme — a three-year-old black mare offered by Warwick and Fiona Lawrence, and purchased for $27,000 by Drew and Sally Stevenson from Hughenden in outback Queensland.

In total, more than 71 horses were offered and achieved an 86 per cent clearance rate, while 20 lots were secured through StockLive.

Blake O’Rielly, from Ray White Rural, said complementing the sale with online selling capabilities was extremely well received by perspective buyers who could view the horses in action during the prework and physical sale.

“The draw of horses this year was exceptional, which led to the increased prices, and we saw geldings reach an average of $10,210 which was close to mares,” Mr O’Rielly said.

“This surprised us all and is a credit to the vendors who presented them.”

About 1000 people viewed the event online via StockLive, with campdraft spectators tuning in to watch some of the best horsemen and women in the country go head-to-head.

Mr O’Rielly said the campdraft action was taken to a new level thanks to the large quality lines of donated cattle the event’s new location provided.

“The new facility at Armidale (the event was previously at Kempsey) meant we were able to draw larger runs of good quality cattle which made for fairer competition as all the riders were working stock from the same line,” he said.

“As we had some of the best riders and horses from across the country, the level of competition also increased and scores were running high all weekend.”

Mr O’Rielly said the sale created a clear footprint for 2022.