Callaho Warmblood Sport Horses

The inaugural Online Auction

- Dr Lizzie Harrison

The Callaho Warmblood Sport Horse Auction has been a fixture on the local equestrian calendar over the past 12 years, and as 2020 commenced, tickets for the event were already selling fast in anticipation of another great weekend spent at the stud. Sadly, as the global pandemic hit, it became increasingly clear that the event would not be able to proceed as normal, and as with most other businesses across the globe, Callaho were forced to temporarily close their doors. The cancellation of the event was a great sadness for the Callaho team, who have always loved welcoming the Callaho family of clients to their home to meet their very special horses.

In this context, many would have shied away from the challenges COVID-19 presented and opted for private sales, or taken a ‘wait-and-see’ approach. Yet the Callaho team bravely decided to follow the trends of digital disruption, and take the auction online. This was a groundbreaking commitment, as no sport horse auction of this type and scale has ever been offered on a virtual platform in South Africa.

Callaho did their research, eventually settling on a partnership with an online auction platform widely used by the top names in sport horse breeding in Europe. This platform proved remarkably user-friendly and clients couldn’t fail to be impressed by the intuitive interface, the wealth of information provided and the ease of use.