A HORSE auction at the Euroa Saleyards on Saturday brought big numbers to the town.
The organiser from Nagambie, Victorian Country Auctions auctioneer Mark Austin, estimated as many as 500 people could have attended.
“Put it this way, the food van and the coffee van sold out by 11 o'clock,” he said.
There were 170 registered bidders, but many brought along families and companions.
Attendees came from all over Victoria and even Australia, with buyers from Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland all making their way to the auction.
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With the RACV Veteran Car Club having booked out much of the town’s accommodation for the weekend, some attendees were unable to find accommodation in Euroa and stayed overnight in towns including Longwood, Benalla and Shepparton.
Mr Austin said it had been the first horse auction in Victoria in four years; the Strathbogie Shire was a great place for it, he thought, as it is “the horse capital of Victoria”.
He had encouraged attendees to use local transport companies, including Prestige Forces, EquiLink and North East Transport.
He said he is keen to hold horse auctions in Euroa once a month.
Euroa Saleyards Committee member Richard McGeehan said they had allowed Victorian Country Auctions to hold two events at the saleyards as a trial.
“I think the first one went very well, seemed to be really well managed,” he said.
“It was busy – there were a lot of cars in town, and horses, and a weekend market.
“It was a choc-o-block.”
Mr McGeehan said he had anticipated possible complaints from “animal rights people”, but on attending the auction he saw no evidence of animal cruelty, and he had received no complaints.
At the auction on Saturday, The Euroa Gazette spoke to Tom Wilson, who had travelled from Oaklands, NSW, with his girlfriend Courtney Summons, in search of a pony.
“We've got a small child in the way, and our neighbour's got two small children, so we're looking for a smaller pony, because at the moment we've got [larger] horses,” he said.
“We really want something we can allow child to ride without it being too much of a risk.”
Mr Wilson said he had previously only attended online horse auctions, and the event in Euroa was “a lot more organised than I thought it would be”.
