Stock Horse enthusiasts from across the country had Holbrook on the map on January 11 to 14 as the Grills family of Berragoon Stock Horse stud, Holbrook, held their 2024 annual production sale.
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All up, 94 of the 119 horses offered were sold to an $80,000 top.
The foals had a full clearance of 13, which averaged $7961 with a top $12,000, while the yearlings also achieved a full clearance of 14 and sold to a top of $24,000 to average $10,857.
For the mare portion, 39 of the 49 offered were sold, include the top of $80,000, to average $21,106, with 25 of the 39 geldings selling to a top of $31,000 to average $16,600.
The event was also more special than usual, as the family celebrated 50 years of breeding Stock Horses.
The four day program included polocrosse, campdrafting and newly added events of a challenge and a stallion shoot out and wrapped up with the sale of the ridden horses on Saturday.
It was the sale's largest catalogue to date, with 119 horses, offered by Berragoon and outside vendors from throughout the eastern seaboard, ranging from foals and yearlings through to ridden mature horses.
The top-priced mare and horse of the sale was offered by the Grills family. This was Berragoon Stash, purchased for $80,000 by Will Durkin, Charters Towers, Qld.
The black six-year-old mare descended from was out of Berragoon Ravers and by Smith Family Conjessman.
Mr Durkin said one of the reasons for purchasing Berragoon Stash was for the outcross of genetics on her dam's side, along with previously purchasing another Smith Family Conjessman mare, Berragoon Tart, out of the Nutrien Classic sale in Tamworth three years ago.
"The other reason that I bought her to was because the mare that she is out of," Mr Durkin said.
"It's a different line to what I have and to what a lot of campdraft people have got, the sire line is something that I like, but the dam line is also something different.
"It was a couple of years ago I saw Ravers and I thought she was a beautiful old mare, she looked good.
"That helped, having seen her before and knowing that she was such a good type of mare."
Mr Durkin said he accidentally discovered Berragoon Stash through one of his brother's over the Christmas break.
"At Christmas time one of my brothers was looking through the Berragoon catalogue and he read her out," said Mr Durkin.
"I looked into it and I asked Jim Grills about her and he sent me some videos and that's how I got keen on her and went from there."
Berragoon retains the rights to two filly foals by the mare.
The top-priced gelding, Berragoon Mandela, offered by Jess Smith, Violet Town, Vic, was purchased for $31,000 by Barb Wiscombe, Marrar.
The 10-year-old Stonebrook Finno son was described the in catalogue as being a genuine, quiet gelding to suit the whole family, while being ridden in A and B grade polocrosse games and also teaching beginners how to ride and play and having experience mustering and being campdrafted successfully.
Chestnut filly, Berragoon Tootsie, by Berragoon Gazman and out of Berragoon Floozy, was the top-priced yearling, purchased by Matt Davidson and Tennille Crabb, Pittsworth, Qld, for $24,000.
She was offered due to being one half of a set of twin fillies.
The November 2022-drop filly's pedigree included Bonlac Gigolo on her dam's side and Hazelwood Conman on her sire's side.
The foal portions of the catalogue proved be to be in demand, with Berragoon Amala, a November 2023-drop filly selling for $12,000, purchased by Rosswell Pastoral Company, Whinchelsea, Vic.
Also only being offered as a result of being a twin filly, the chestnut Nonda Newman daughter was out of Berragoon Rebel, who had been a draft winner and Lucy Grill's, of Berragoon, current best polocrosse mount.
Meanwhile, the top-priced colt was Glenlock Mr Squiggle, a two-year-old black son of Bonlac Gigalo, offered by Dennis Heywood, Everton, Vic, purchased by Scott Bandy, Tooma, for $20,000.
Other highlights included Berragoon Quest, a 10-year-old mare, by the late Stonebrook Finno out of the champion polocrosse mare Berragoon Percussion, offered by Fraser and Laura Donnelly, Utungun, was purchased by Carlie and Abbott Grills, Guyra, for $59,000.
Berragoon Megs, a nine-year-old mare offered by the Berragoon stud, sold for $50,000 to Kevin and Tracy Stephenson, Richmond, while Berragoon Swirl, another Stonebrook Finno daughter, offered by Jesse Walsh, Garfield North, Vic, sold for $34,000 to Nicole and Cameron Hill, Mendooran.
Berragoon Stock Horse stud prinicpal, Sara Grills, said the events segment was growing each year and the stud was blessed with the support from their family and team.
"We just started off with an incentive polocrosse competition and then moved into the draft and then the open draft and this year the stallion draft," Mrs Grills said.
"Which I thought was wonderful because polocrosse doesn't have an avenue to expose stallions where you can go and see them, unless you go to another event where it's just stallions at a campdraft or a show. We've been wanting to try and get people to see the breeding behind the horses so another one of Jimmy's ideas and it was received really well and hopefully continues to grow."
Mrs Grills said this was the first time the sale had been split across two days with the foals and led horses being sold one day and then the ridden the next, making it easier from a logistical perspective due to the volume of horses.
The sale was conducted by Ray White GTSM Albury, with Micheal Glasser, James Brown, Baden Chaffey and Max Nell as auctioneers and online via AuctionsPlus.
