Nutrien Classic turns it on at AELEC in Tamworth

I wonder what Dick Wigan would have thought of the recent Nutrien Classic sale in Tamworth, where the overall gross was a hair shy of $17.1 million with an average of more than $32,000, up $5000 on the previous year's result. This year's sale also sold 112 fewer horses than the last year.

The Classic certainly was a big deal for Tamworth and its surroundings, with an economic contribution to the city that wouldn't quite match the country music festival held about 10 days earlier. Still, it's an event gaining a reputation as a destination for those equine enthusiasts.

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Summer holidays? Let's go to the Classic Campdraft Sale. It's gaining popularity as an alternative to attending the Ekka (Brisbane Royal Show) or Sydney's Easter Show, where like-minded people can watch some truly-talented steeds put through their paces by professional trainers and equally skilled DIY riders.

Admittedly last year's event went ahead, but it was skillfully managed through the pandemic, creating headlines for a young mare that sold for $550,000. An attention grabber in anybody's eyes. This year's event was aided and abetted by zero COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Attending the Classic is pretty straightforward.

Roll into town in your favoured mode of transport: truck, gooseneck, semi-trailer or B-double. It all depends on your bank balance and your method of locomotion.

There's only one vowel that splits the words place and palace, but in the scheme of things, there are many thousand, even hundreds of thousands of dollars that go into the presentation and preparation of a mobile palace.

With room for two to five mounts, the farm truck swags cinched down alongside a store of hay, with a tent as the budget method.

At the other end of the spectrum is the big B-double. The front section is a trailer for the short-wheelbase Jeep, which is the run-around town vehicle.

The horse transport area is swept out and becomes an above-ground living area; there's a shower, air-conditioning and satellite telly, while on the 'flat' below camping chairs with stubby holders in the arms, a barbecue and platters of nibbles. This is living.

A real eye-catcher was a golf cart reconfigured to look a lot like a Bentley open-top tourer with the same rich, burgundy colours as the B-double. And they're good guys.

Of note was the limited number of the good old-fashioned tow-behind-a-ute horse float. Whether it's a status- or a numbers-driven decision, the horse float is a tad passé in this world, and there aren't many to be seen.

According to Prue Simson, the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) manager, there were 543 camping trucks on the grounds. AELEC, she says, becomes a village for 14 days with food, drinks and shops to ply their wares.

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In the stables were all 623 sale horses and about 3000 horses on the grounds for the campdraft and the Challenge.

Six full days of campdrafting for all ages and skill levels required the services of 3500 cattle from Nutrien clients who donate the use of their steers and heifers from as far away as Nyngan, Merriwa, Ellerston, Guerie and Gwabegar.

With the number of horses on the grounds, the waste issue is composted chiefly or recycled, and the campgrounds are designed to collect the run-off grey water. It's all sustainable.

While the entertainment industry gets a healthy boost from Classic visitors, the agricultural and service sectors get a good push.

Visitors from the Northern Territory and far north Queensland use the Tamworth trip to get trucks serviced, new tires and secure machinery and other agricultural bits and pieces to take back with them.

Some, the story goes, have bought harvesters to take back up north which is a nice kick for local businesses but a slow drive home, one imagines.

Another part of the Nutrien Classic week is a store cattle sale where 3305 head sold for a gross of $5,256m.

Nutrien's team of agents and administration staffers also contributes to the general bottom line with apparently up to 100 staff in the Country Music Capital as the campdraft and horse sale unfolds.

The commission on $22m of transactions would be considerable, but plenty of hard work is also involved.

When the conversation was about the construction of the AELEC and its opening in 2008, the usual crop of sceptics wondered whether such an arena would get the usage it should need.

Those who can recall the theme from the baseball movie Field of Dreams: 'build it and they will come' will tip their hats to the success of the complex.

The venue received a big tick of approval early in its growth. It was summed up by Russell McCord, the then chairman of Cutting Judges in America, who was the guest judge and said: "I have travelled all over the world judging cutting events; this complex is second to none in the world." Thanks for coming, Mr McCord.