2015 Landmark Equine Classic Sale & Campdraft
91% Clearance ~ SIMPLY THE BEST
“Some people go to Warwick, some people go to Paradise but everyone comes to Landmark”
The anticipation for the Landmark Classic Sale and Campdraft in February has been building for months before the big rigs rolled into Tamworth. A far cry from 8 years ago when a small team of dedicated people put together a dream event bringing quarter horses and stock horses together in one sale at the Tamworth Showground’s in 2008. Most know the story of starting a sale after the Australian EI outbreak but few would have foreseen the growth and impact on the Performance Horse Industry that is that the Landmark Classic Sale Incentive Campdraft.
Twenty Fifteen again surpassed all expectations with vendors from all states and territories around Australia showcase the very best bloodlines and young stock for sale. Extending by a day to start on Sunday morning they were able to include all events and the huge increase of nominations, all competing for over $200,000 in cash and prizes.
Five days of competition, over 1500 campdraft runs and 2500 cattle used, it could be mistaken that the Campdraft & Challenge events may take away from the sale. But again the magic that is the Landmark Classic, works so well with the combination of draft & sale that twenty fifteen saw records smashed.
Without a doubt the sale surpassed expectations, the most horses ever offered, highest gross and new top price for mares, geldings and the highest average, but what can’t be estimated is also injecting much needed positivity in the performance horse industry. With vendors from all over Australia dealing with and tough economic climate and some long-term drought, would be buoyed with top averages this year in the sales 8 year history.
Topping this year Landmark Classic Sale at $80,000 was successful vendor John Breklemans from Gracemere QLD, with his four-year-old bay mare Duck Down.
Johns planning with his breeding is paying off in the sale ring,
“Once you used to have to win the Futurity to get a good name to sell horses, now we don’t have to do that with Landmark”
John breeds his horses to be able to go either Camp drafting or Cutting and the Landmark Classic has given him a great stage to sell his Duck horses.
2015 saw him break the top price mare record on Saturday with Breks Conducktress selling her for $67,500 and then smashing this record on Sunday with Duck Down, purchased by fellow Queenslanders Noel & Jo-Anne Chiconi.
The Multimedia concept has always been important to Mark Barton from the very first sale, with technology finally catching up with his vision this year new to the sale format was the interface of the sale with Auctions Plus. Allowing people at home on their computers to live bid on horses in real time. Five horses were purchased through the system with 204 registered bidders. Interfacing this with the live footage on a new big screen mounted above the auctioneers for the first time also gave a new dimension to the preworks and sale. The live webcast by Wild Colt Productions meant that viewers at home didn’t miss a single moment of the week.
Top Price Stallion “Wolf of Wall Street” sold by Richard & Sandi Bull for $65,000 was purchased over the phone by Ray Heslin from 7 Star Quarter Horses as he watched the sale whilst overseas in America. Though phone bidding is not a new concept, to be able to see the sale live and be bidding either online or over the phone is a truly amazing opportunity for vendors at the Landmark Classic.
The program again this year worked towards the Thursday evening when most of the finals where held. The atmosphere of the finals night was electric as the sun set over the AELEC Stadium, the crowd built to thousands watching the top young stock of the performance horse industry compete.
The great concept of the Landmark Classic Campdraft was a fairytale competition for Victorian duo Mat Holz & Peter Aposto winning the $35,000 cheque with the top price mare of 2014, Bulla Tamborine. Peter was impressed with dark brown mare last year before the sale and showed her to his trainer Mat, of very few words Mat on seeing her gave the nod and hasn’t that nod paid off this year. Nail biting classic with the biggest entries in the drafts history came down to the first runoff between Mat and Pete Comiskey riding Ervines Just Jim. Mat and Bulla Tamborine put around their run off for 87 to take out the Classic Draft. Someone who is always conservative with his emotions, Mat was clearly delighted with the win doing a lap of honor in front of a huge crowd on Friday night at the Presentations.
Another fantastic initiative from Landmark Equine is the Performance Horse Challenge, this year with new sponsors Prydes Easifeeds from Gunnedah. The challenge combines both dry and wet work patterns and this year was judged by Tony Mortimer and Peter Shumack, like the Classic was the closest competition in it’s 3 year history.
In a final dominated by equine greats such as two time Gold Cup winner Ben Hall, current Warwick Gold Cup Stallion winner Michael Wilson and Non Pro Futurity winner Amelia Servin it was the crowd favourite Felicity Burton aboard her magnificent mare JR Elsola Rey (RS Chisim x Jenny Wren) who took out the hotly contested final of the Prydes EasiFeed Performance Horse Challenge and in doing so took home the $15,000 custom made Navaho Trailer and $8,000 winners cheque.
Felicity and her husband Carl purchased JR Elsola Rey in 2012 for $5,000 from Victorian Tony Soffra and were immediately thrilled by the foundation that was put on the mare that competed last year in the Challenge but was bought along slowly with this year’s competition in mind.
Felicity considers last night’s challenge to be one of her proudest moments and is on the hunt for another prospect to challenge and draft at the following Classic’s commenting that the concept along with the sponsorship from Prydes Easifeed and Navaho is second to none.
At only .04 of a point separating first and second was Michael Wilson on his gelding Ocean Expo by resident sire Soda Justice out of Smart Little Argyle bred by the Field family and purchased for $7,500 in 2012. Expo ran 6th in the challenge last year and this year took home $4000 in cash plus prizes.
The Landmark Classic attracts over 5000 performance horse enthusiasts to the AELEC Stadium in February and this year over 50,000 online viewers from over 10 countries. This popularity in the event grows each year with the Landmark Equine team ahead of the anticipation announcing at the end of the sale that the Classic Campdraft prize money will be increased to an incredible $40,000.
Sale 9 will again be held in February and already vendors are working towards their entries in this blue ribbon sale. “They said after last year we wouldn’t have another year of record prices and we broke every one of them” said Mark Barton. Landmark Equine team keeps improving the event year after year with plans towards the 10-year milestone already underway.
Vendors and Buyers respond to this commitment and this impressive year will soon be the benchmark not just records.
Sale Results
Sale Gross $5.942 Million
169 Gelding Sold Ave $8,426.04 TOP Lot 89 $29,000
281 Mares Sold Ave $14,270.46 TOP Lot 566 $80,000
30 Stallions Sold Ave $16, 933.33 TOP Lot 285 $65,000
Overall Average $12,379.17
Lots Sold 480/527
91% Clearance!