Reporting-Out Activity
College: Feather River College
Name:
Russell Reid, Department Chair Agriculture Department
Chuck Mills, Faculty Instructor Equine Studies
Email: rreid@frc.edu; cmills@frc.edu
Conference: Red Bluff Bull & Gelding Sale
Location: Red Bluff, CA
Dates: January 26 – January 30
Link: http://www.redbluffbullsale.com
Overview: Three-day horse and bull sale combined with clinics, trade show, demonstrations in
horse training, and new technology in ranching. Attended by approximately 20,000 people.
Purpose of Training: To keep current in horse sale preparation, horse training, new agricultural
products and technology, and market trends.
Project: The Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale is one of the premier horse sales in the country. It is the
first sale of the year and generally demonstrates what the horse market will look like for the coming
year’s students.
The Agriculture Department hosts a horse sale every spring. It is important for the Equine Studies
instructors and students to keep up on the horse market by attending the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale.
It enables contact and networking with current horse industry specialists as well as promotional
opportunities for the Horse Program and sale.
The concern that we had this year was to stay dry since it was raining. Would the sale reflect the down
turn of the horse industry? It did. Chuck and I were very interested specifically in what marketing and
horse training techniques were being utilized to keep the sale price up this year. We observed that the
horses were very well groomed and fitted for the sale. The level of training seemed to have improved.
The horse sale preview demonstrated gentle horses. Their riding pattern also demonstrated an overall
improvement in the basics: straightness, lead changes, stopping and turning. Each must demonstrate that
they can have their feet picked up and move out under halter while being observed by a sifting
committee, which was made up of various horsemen and veterinarians.
We also visited with several horse trainers who sold horses. Some were disappointed in their individual
performances in the preview. It was amazing that “mistakes” with the horse and rider reflected lower
price in the sale ring on some very good horses.
I talked with the sale office and they did not significantly alter their sale marketing “pre sale” promotions.
The sale committee did not limit entries this year and sifted horses to try and decrease the total number of
horses sold (150 entered in the sale after sifting, there were 108). They anticipated lower prices so they
limited the number of horses for sale. That seemed to work. The average sale price was $5,150.46
whereas last year the average sale price was $5,848.00.
This year, Ted Robinson who is a world champion cow horse trainer and clinician, demonstrated how to
“work a cow” for competition or presenting your horse “for sale”.