HELENA — If you're anything like me, your horse was $200 and found on Craigslist. The horses at Turner Performance's League of Legends Invitational Horse Sale are anything but that.
These horses have been hand-selected after being nominated for the sale. Through a submission of X-rays, soundness letters and a list of disposition and performance standards, 67 horses from multiple disciplines including rodeo, trail riding, versatility, mounted shooting, pleasure, cutting, and more have been selected.
Chad and Paje Turner have been putting on this horse sale for what will now be six years. The past five years have been held in Livingston, but for the first time the event will be in their very own backyard in East Helena.
"We decided to have a group of horses that are screened by veterinarians before they go in. The horses all have clean radiographs, and not only have they been looked at by one, but that but they've been looked at by possibly up to four events. So when we do that, first we just want to have horses in here that where no horse will be not sold due to a past purchase exam, veterinary exam after the sale. Not only that the horse has to have a very good disposition and it needs to be versatile as far as being proven in the show pen to a very nice trail horse, to cutting, roping, reigning, cow horse, horses that kind of are in your pocket at times," Chad Turner said.
There will be 67 horses for sale this year, ranging anywhere from $15,000 to $360,000.
"We have buyers come from coast to coast, Hawaii, several different countries, and then we have a lot of locals that come as well. And I think why it's growing as far as for people coming here, they know that we are truly trying to fit people with their next horse. They can come here and watch 67 horses that they can ride. All horses are checked out by the vet. There's so many things where the checklist is already done for you guys. So when you come here and you find out hey, this is the horse that I like, you already know that hey, he has good radiographs. Hey, he has a vet check already done," Turner said.
Some of their horses come from the most impressive of pedigrees. This year they have several from Magnum Chic Dream, Metallic Cat, and Woody Be Tuff.
"So pedigree is a lot to me, but it's not everything to me. There is a good horse in every breed in every color. And that is the truth," Turner said.
The sale is Aug. 5 and 6. On Aug. 5, buyers are free to test and ride horses. On Aug. 6, there will be a trail horse competition and ranch horse competition.
“So you'll get to watch the horses after you try them the day before. Watch them again perform and get to do a ton of things with them and watch them in so many different ways to really try to find your next partner on a horse,” Turner added.
Not only do they have horses for sale but they also have a 4-year-old border collie named Dave available.
"He's become a really good dog. He has good direction on cattle. He can wait, come by, lie down, walk up. So he's like having for four good cowboys gathering a herd of cattle out of a pasture. He gets around them and brings them to you, he listens well, and he's a nice border collie dog that's ready to go on to a ranch or to someone's home to have friendly dog, but I do hope he goes to a working home," Turner said.
More about the League of Legends sale can be found here.
