American Quarter gallops Agra into its first-ever stud horse auction

Ask Agra’s auctioneering services to sell cattle, goats, sheep and game to the highest bidder, but do not ask them to sell stud horses, they have never done it before.

However, that gap in their auction repertoire has just been mended with Agra’s first, and very successful, stud horse auction on behalf of the Bronco Quarter Horse Stud, held last week Tuesday, 30 May 2017, at the Agra Bank Windhoek Auction Ring at the Showgrounds in Windhoek.

“This was a first for us and we will definitely build on this auction to make these special genetics available to other Namibian breeders”, said a satisfied Sakkie van der Merwe, owner of Bronco Quarter Horse Stud, after the auction. A total of 15 horses were sold for an average price of N$36,800, with the most prized stallion going for N$88,000.

The Van der Merwe family started breeding the Quarter horse in 2007 when they bought their first American Quarter horses from the Bronco stud in South Africa. This put the family on a dedicated Quarter horse journey and in 2010 they bought the stud from its previous owners, the O’Callaghan family and relocated it to their farm Kuiseb in the Khomas Hochland.

Sakkie, his wife Anri and their three daughters, Nina, Zani and Amia are now the proud owners of the stud. Through their stud, the family has made it their mission to breed exceptional American Quarter horse for the disciplines of reining, cutting and roping and as versatile farm horses.

Henno Badenhorst, Agra’s auctioneer expressed his pleasure in having had to opportunity to conduct his company’s very first stud horse auction. “The passion and dedication of the van der Merwes are visible in the quality of the animals they offered and I hope that we can be to their service again in the future”, he said.

In the picture, the main attraction, the N$88,000 pedigree American Quarter horse, stands in the back left, while the Van der Merwe family, from the left, daughters Zani, Nina and Amia, together with their parents, Anri and Sakkie van der Merwe, celebrate the horse with its new owners, Kosike and Berni Stahl. On the right is the man who effected the transaction, seasoned Agra auctioneer, Hennor Badenhorst.