Equestrian

Sibaya Sales

The 2008 Sibaya Sales had 292 yearlings catalogued, with 201 horses on the mixed sale. Once again nearly 500 horses had to move through the stables. The whole event in Durban is totally time driven and Agri-Expo is only allowed on the Sibaya Car park on the Saturday - and then, 4 days later (Tuesday) the first horses arrive! Fencing to go up, walking ring to be built, 350 stables to be built, bedding put in and the grooms quarters have to be built. We house 160 grooms on site. Space is very tight and it becomes a jig saw puzzle to fit in the cabins, showers and toilets in a small area next to the stables - all the time remembering aesthetics as we are right on the Front Car Park of the Sibaya Casino! The Yearling Sales were run in the Imbizo Conference Centre of the Casino. The aggregate was R15,675,000.00 which is 16% down on the previous year's figure. The Mixed Sale was down on aggregate, but up slightly on the average price. It would appear that the Horse in Training have built up into a rather strong part of the sale.

Lippizaners at GrandWest

Agri-Expo has been contracted by GrandWest to manage the logistics for the presentation of the Lippizaner Stallion Shows in the Grand Arena. We were also responsible for designing and building the Dressage Arena inside this remarkable venue.

For the first time heavy machinery were allowed inside the arena. Clay and sawdust were carefully mixed and used to create the perfect surface. We received many compliments from the riders, saying that was the best surface they ever performed on.

The Grand Arena's professional team handled the lighting and contributed to the fact that the performances were a remarkable experience. All performances were very well attended by the public, and it was an honour for Agri-Expo to be involved with the performances of these world-renowned stallions.

Annual Equestrian Show

Unfortunately, due to the very heavy rains experienced during winter, the newly levelled arenas were not ready when it was time to run the Annual Equestrian event, so we had to cancel the event for 2009. We do, however, plan to run a bumper show for 2010.

GrandWest Yearling Sales

The Cape Sales were moved back to the traditional time (first weekend in February) running together with the J&B Met. Although it is considered to be a bit early in the year for the yearlings it is still better than running them after the National Sales and in the Cape Winter.

With the economy right down, expectations were not that high! Only 210 Yearlings were lotted compared to the 253 yearlings the year before. Average price was just under 10% down but still thought to be pretty good for the current economy. The mare sale was also run two days later at the marquee in the Sales yard, but the average price was down 23%.

Logistics at GrandWest is slightly easier than at Sibaya, because of more space, but it still has very tight time constraints as the Casino has to give up a very big part of their car park and they keep the time to the absolute minimum. They expect the car park to be absolutely clean and no sign of the stables or horses after only 5 days!