A handful of Belgian mares brought over $12,000 apiece during Topeka Livestock Auction's spring draft horse sale.
The top selling horse was a Belgian mare consigned by Emanuel E. Miller Jr. of Dundee, Ohio. The 4-year-old sold for $13,500 to Henry Miller of Middlefield, Ohio.
Close to that mark were two 6-year-old mares consigned by E.D. Belgians of Goshen. Those horses were auctioned for $13,000 apiece. Lonnie Miller of Middlebury purchased one of the animals, and Glen Bontrager of Topeka bought the other.
Three Belgian mares sold for $12,000. The first, a 3-year-old consigned by David Yoder and John Paul Kauffman, both of LaGrange, went to Dennis Graber of New Haven. The second, a 4-year-old raised by Jacob Schwartz of Grabill, was purchased by Eicher Farms of Berne. Rounding out the group, Hidden Road Belgians of LaGrange purchased the third horse, a 3-year-old, from Noah Schwartz of New Haven.
Overall, the four-day draft horse auction saw 745 horses move through the auction ring. The total included 592 Belgians, 92 Percherons, 40 crossbreds, 10 Haflingers and 11 miscellaneous animals.
Auction co-owner Andrea Welsh reported that the average sale price was $3,382, with cataloged horses bringing slightly more.
The top-selling Belgian gelding was a 4-year-old consigned by Richard Schlabach of Dalton, Wis. The high bid of $8,250 came from Samuel Graber of Montgomery, Ind.
Delbert Fry of Topeka sold a 4-year-old gelding for $6,750 to Robert Barrett of Limekiln, Neb. In another sale, a bid of $6,200 from Ronald Wills of Greenville, Ind. purchased a 3-year-old gelding consigned by Elmer D. Beachy of Millersburg.
In the stallion sale, Wilbur Helmuth of Albany, Wis. paid $12,000 for a yearling consigned by David Helmuth of Milledgeville, Ga. Samuel Graber of Montgomery, Ind. sold a 2-year-old stallion for $10,000 to James Delagrange of Quincy, Mich. Daryl Miller of Millersburg received $8,500 for a yearling that was purchased by Marlin Miller of Millersburg.
Among Percherons, a bid of $7,200 purchased a 4-year-old mare consigned by Noah Schwartz of New Haven. The buyer was John Lengacher, also of New Haven. Floyd Bontrager of Middlebury sold a 3-year-old mare for $5,600 to Phil Autto of Atwood, Ill. Hannah Deer of Shipshewana received $5,500 for her 5-year-old mare from Zachary Hawkins of Edon, Ohio.
The top two Percheron geldings were consigned by James Hostetler of Shipshewana. The first, a 4-year-old, brought $6,250 and was purchased by Andrew Kidd of Findley, Ohio. The second, a 3-year-old, sold for $5,900 and was sold to Jerry Slabach of Shipshewana. Also, Dannie Bontrager of Shipshewana consigned a 4-year-old that sold for $4,900 to John Bontrager of Shipshewana.
Robert Schmucker of Goshen sold a 6-year-old Percheron stallion for $7,800 to Levi Schwartz of Monroe, Ind. Kenny Chupp of Tuscola, Ill. consigned a 3-year-old stallion that brought $4,500 from Dickie Harral of Mt. Vernon, Ark. And a 6-year-old stallion raised by Allen Beachy of Holton, Mich. was auctioned for $4,250 to Henry King of New Castle, Ind.