Top Horse Sells for $40,000 at Waverly Midwest Auction

The five-day auction drew up to 6,000 people and saw steady prices throughout the event

WAVERLY, IOWA (RFD NEWS) — The Waverly Midwest Horse Auction wrapped up after a busy five-day run, bringing in thousands of attendees and showcasing hundreds of horses.

The event featured around 800 horses, including more than 300 high-quality draft cross horses.

RFD News caught up with Leon Martin, owner and president of Waverly Sales Company, who discussed on Monday’s Market Day Report how the event went and the future of the auction show.

“A lot of those cross-bred, top-end horses [were sold] in the $30,000 to $38,000 range,” Martin said. “We sold some ponies in the $12,000 to $15,000 range—just a really solid market.”

Martin said attendance was strong, estimating between 5,000 and 6,000 people over the course of the event. The top-selling horse, a Gypsy gelding, brought in $40,000.

With the spring sale now complete, Martin says planning is already underway for the next auction.

“It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work, but it takes everybody,” he said. “It takes good consignors and good buyers as well.”

The event is held twice a year, with the next sale scheduled for October.

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Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


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