Southern Belle Classic Returns Premier Horse Sale at Stable View By Pam Gleason
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he Southern Belle Classic premier horse sale will return to Stable View in Aiken this March 22-23, bringing with it a selection of 60 handpicked, quality horses coming from all across the country. The sale, created by Tiffany Fuller and Meredith Mobley through their company Belles in Boots Productions, bills itself as “the South’s Elite Horse Sale.” This will be the second annual sale put on by the company. The first sale, held last year on the same weekend and also at Stable View, was highly successful, with essentially all of the horses leaving the property to go to new homes. Prices and interest in the sale were extremely robust. The high seller, consigned by Diamond K out of Ohio, went for a cool $157,000 with the average horse fetching $34,000 and the average pony $12,000. 85-pound Misty is lot #1 equitation and so on. A number of the trainers teach their horses tricks, such a sitting down on command, rolling a ball or allowing dogs to jump on and off their backs. The sale catalog, complete with pictures, videos and descriptions, is available online at southernbelleclassic.com The catalog includes horses from a variety of different breeds. Quarter Horses, America’s premier western performers, are, of course, wellrepresented. There are also Friesians and Friesian crosses, drafts and draft crosses, gypsies, paints and ponies. If you are looking for something in particular you can sort the catalog by age, breed, height, consignor or color. Have your heart set on a palomino? There are eight to choose from, or take your pick of the 10 buckskins that have been consigned. Interested in a horse that will stand out? Check out the “unique” category under color. This includes some duns and cremellos, as well as truly unusual looking horses such as hip #12, 4CMidnight Moon, a 2017 Gypsy Vanner gelding with a rare speckled black and white coat. There is also a selection of six ponies, or pony-sized horses, mostly Gypsy Vanners, a breed that tends to measure on the short side. The most unique animal in the auction is tiny Misty, hip #1, a dwarf miniature pony. Misty, who has been adopted as the Southern Belle mascot, is just 22 inches tall and weighs only 85 pounds. Misty is
Meredith Mobley and Tiffany Fuller “I think that people are really focused on quality right now,” said Meredith Mobley. “I think that’s where a sale like ours really gets to shine because we’ve done that homework ahead of time. We’ve weeded out a lot of horses; they have all been through vet checks; we’ve reviewed all their videos and they are all from really reputable consigners.” The Southern Belle Classic is one of a small number of high-end sales for western-type horses that offer animals that have gone through an immense amount of training, either for a specific event such as reining, or for all around general riding and using. The number one characteristic of these horses is probably that they are broke, meaning essentially that you can do pretty much anything with them, and they will remain calm, focused, safe, and willing. Although most of the horses will come with western training and will be under western tack, many of the consignors also have English backgrounds. In addition to stereotypically western-type horses, there are horses with jumping experience, as well as horses that are ready to start competing in dressage. There are also horses that drive, horses suitable for working
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The Aiken Horse
4CMidnight Moon, the horse with the speckled coat.
February-March 2024