Bigger, better, and booming with quality - find your kind - rope, rein, cut, ranch or just ride, good horses ran in big bunches at Billings Livestock Commission’s three-day “February Special Catalog Sale” February 22-23-24.

A one-stop-shop for arena, performance, and promising prospects, the superhorse weekend saw blue skies, Montana sunshine, 50+ degrees and 883 head of horses.

From first horse to last, an ambitious market played to a full house of buyers as over 700 individuals registered to buy at the three-day sale which included an indoor preview of all performance horses.

Trumping all previous February sales records, just 57 horses were “no-saled” by the consignor, computing to a 94% completed sales rate.

Stallions stood king of the hill as four of the top five selling horses were studs - sired by the cow horse greats Dual Pep, Peptoboonsmal, High Brow Cat, and Bet On Me 498.

The top five averaged $29,800.

Pink, pretty, and pedigreed, Hip 324 “Must Be A Pepto” a 2003 AQHA red roan stallion by the $10 million dollar sire Peptoboonsmal and out of Meradas Kitty Rey came consigned by Mark and Marsha Chestnut, Whitesboro, TX.

The standup stallion brought $36,000 and sold to Bud Fay, Gillette, WY.

Show him, ride him, or breed him, Hip 359 “Madual” a 1996 AQHA sorrel stallion x Dual Pep and out of Jewels Madera was pretty enough to halter and came with over $25,000 in NCHA earnings.

Purchased by Diamond JT Quarter Horses, Bentley, Alberta, the ready-to-show stallion brought $38,000.

A great mother - Little Badger Dulce - combined with the NCHA Horse of the Year “High Brow Cat” and Hip 351 “Cat and Dulce” a 2004 AQHA sorrel stallion came loaded with genetics.

Selling breeding sound only, the purple-pedigreed stallion came consigned by Kenneth Jackson, Owensville, MO and sold to Barbara Condon, Arlington, WA for $30,000.

Mares proved good property as daughters of High Brow Cat, Peppy San Badger, Shining Spark, One Time Pepto, Si O’lena, and Dual Pep all claimed a stake in the top twenty sellers listing.

Black Rock Ranch, LLC, Harrision, ID offered Hip 418 “Ms Shining Spark” a 2006 AQHA Palomino mare by Shining Spark and out of Ms i Brow by High Brow Hickory.

Sunshine yellow and riding, the pretty young filly sold for $11,500 to Wilderness Stables and Tack, Calgary, Alberta.

The heat was on the good, gentle, ride-around geldings as buyer demand exceeded supply - again.

Hip 342 “King Juniper” a 2001 AQHA bay gelding x Docs Nifty Bar King came ridden and consigned by Double K Ranch, McCook, NE.

Quiet, gentle, and stays that way, the better gelding brought $9,750 and sold to Lester Field, Townsend, MT.

Catalog sale averages show muscle and include the top 10 at $21,600; Top 20 averaged $15,847; Top 50 brought $10,548, and the top 100 came in at $7,516.

Loose horses ran absolutely wild - inspite of the closure of all U.S. plants and the roadblocks that day after day get thrown in the way - BUT - Billings Livestock’s overall market, from top to bottom, exceeded the February market from one year ago.

Averages tell the story - top five $1,600 compared with $1,545 in 2007; top 10 $1,310; top 20 $1085; top 50 brought $815 compared with $801, and the truth is told going deep with top 100 - they averaged $651 this year against $626 last year - an increase of $25 more per head.

Billings Livestock’s next sale event will be the “Spring Special Catalog Sale” March 22 - 23 and will feature the annual “Outfitters, Guest, Dude Ranch and Trail Horse” offering in addition to a special session of “Roans Only”. All classes of horses will sell, in addition to a big selection of mules.

An indoor preview of the barrel horses, cutters, saddle horses, and rope horses is scheduled for Friday, March 21 at 1 p.m.