R21 million and a new benchmark for SA sporthorse auctions
There was something almost theatrical about this year’s Callaho Auction. From the choreography of the try-outs to the language of the catalogue and the faultless, European-grade presentation, this was more than a sale; it was a statement. Billed as the stud’s “Coming of Age Party,” the 2025 edition delivered everything Callaho has become known for and more, fusing spectacle and substance into a production unlike anything South African equestrian sport has seen before. The numbers alone spoke of confidence – of bloodlines cementing their dominance and of a sporthorse economy maturing fast – but the display itself made an even louder point: this is what it now takes to play at the top.
Auction in numbers
- 31 horses
- R21 million total turnover
- R814k average for sporthorses
- R222k average for broodmares
- 2m top price
The art of presentation
Numbers alone can’t explain what made the Callaho Warmblood Stud 2025 Auction feel extraordinary. You had to experience it.
From the moment guests arrived, it was clear that every detail had been considered. The usually utilitarian stables had been transformed into something closer to a luxury exhibition space. The walkway leading in was lined with towering plinths – each wrapped in striking imagery of Callaho’s stallions, their names woven into sculptural lettering that felt almost architectural. Glass-cased displays offered a tactile history lesson – leatherwork, memorabilia – while giant screens rolled footage from the farm. Underfoot, the crunch of macadamia shells replaced ordinary footing, giving the walkway both texture and scent – a small, surprising detail that summed up the Stud’s commitment to perfectionism.
Inside, the Lipizzaner Hall was unrecognisable. Soft draping reshaped the rafters, light falling in clean planes across raised presentation platforms. Dining tables gleamed beneath crisp linen and floral arrangements that picked up the Callaho palette. The horses were shown in seamless rotation, each turned out to perfection, and shown to their greatest advantage on the Auction stage.
Even the livestream was of European broadcast quality: multi-camera angles, smooth graphics, professional auctioneering. For those watching remotely, it felt like being ringside.
The cumulative effect was trust through immersion. This wasn’t just a sale; it was storytelling. Every choice – the sound design, the symmetry of the stables, the order of the lots – reinforced the idea that Callaho’s horses are the product of both science and art.
It was this level of detail, as much as the bloodlines themselves, that made buyers believe in what they were seeing.
The numbers behind the show
Across 31 lots, the 2025 Callaho Auction realised an average overall price of R680 000, with the median at R550 000.
When separated by category, the divide is striking:
- Sporthorses (24 lots) averaged R814 000 with a median of R725 000.
- Broodmares (7 lots) averaged just R222 000, with a median of R220 000.
In other words, the ridden or near-ready horses fetched nearly four times the average broodmare value – reflecting a market that rewards performance potential and immediacy over long-term breeding investment.
At the sharp end, Callaho Hang Ten, a Callaho Chupalight gelding, topped the sale at R2.2 million, while Callaho Lady Fé, a daughter of Callaho’s Lissabon, followed at R1.7 million. Callaho I’m All That (by I’m Special De Muze) achieved R1.3 million, and both Callaho Avicci (by Alligator Fontaine) and Callaho Farnucci (by Callaho’s For Joy) reached R1.1 million.
The lowest prices clustered around R200 000 – largely broodmares, including Callaho Vienna de Landetta, Callaho Solada, and Callaho Jupiter – suggesting a cautious breeding market where costs and uncertainty are weighing on demand.
Even when those headline figures are stripped out, however, the median sporthorse price remains north of R700 000, meaning the strength wasn’t confined to a few record breakers.
Price distribution curve
| Price band | # of lots | % of total |
| R100 000 – R300 000 | 6 | 19% |
| R300 001 – R600 000 | 9 | 29% |
| R600 001 – R900 000 | 6 | 19% |
| R900 001 – R1 200 000 | 5 | 16% |
| R1 200 001 – R1 800 000 | 3 | 10% |
| R1 800 001 – R2 200 000 | 2 | 6% |
Most horses sold between R300 000 and R900 000, showing a strong mid-market segment. Only 16% of horses exceeded the million-rand mark, but those few lifted the overall average dramatically.
Price gap: Sporthorses vs broodmares
| Category | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest |
| Sporthorses | R814 000 | R725 000 | R2.2 m | R350 000 |
| Broodmares | R222 000 | R220 000 | R300 000 | R120 000 |
For every Rand spent on a broodmare, buyers spent nearly four on a ridden horse – evidence that breeding remains a passion project rather than a commercial pursuit and that people want to enter the ring sooner rather than later.
Median vs mean
A handful of blockbuster prices pulled up the mean, but the median reveals the true market pulse, which appears steady, confident, and sustainable.
Total turnover
Total sale value: approximately R21 million
R21 million changed hands at the Callaho Warmblood Stud Auction 2025 setting a new benchmark for a domestic stud auction.
Bloodlines that sold
This year’s results also reflected which bloodlines South African buyers now trust, and which ones they aspire to own.
Callaho Chupalight progeny led the averages, topping R1.2 million, confirming his rising status as Callaho’s commercial powerhouse. The top lot, Callaho Hang Ten, reinforced that his offspring’s athleticism and carefulness translate to buyer confidence.
Callaho Lissabon, long a Callaho cornerstone, maintained his allure with Lady Fé and Lady Gaga both performing exceptionally – proof that classic Callaho bloodlines certainly retain their grip on the market.
I’m Special De Muze, introduced more recently into the South African gene pool, made an emphatic debut with a single gelding that hit R1.3 million, suggesting strong appetite for Belgian-bred bloodlines when paired with Callaho mares.
Meanwhile, Callaho Con Coriano descendants (five in total) averaged just under R490 000, positioning him as the dependable, mid-market stallion whose stock buyers trust for rideability and temperament.
On the dressage side, Callaho’s For Joy, Callaho’s Benicio, and Sir Donnerhall I showed that the dressage market is maturing: while prices didn’t rival the jumpers, the demand is real and growing. Ella Mai – by the PRE stallion Esclavo FM owned by Candice Hobday – fetched R900 000, signalling that classical Iberian influence has found admirers in South Africa.
What the market rewarded
Beyond pedigrees, buyers appeared to pay for certainty: horses with proven under-saddle footage, clean veterinary reports, and visible rideability.
The gender split tells a story, too. The top five prices were all geldings, while only Lady Fé cracked the upper echelon as a mare. Broodmares, by contrast, all sold for less than the cheapest ridden gelding.
This points to an evolving buyer profile. Today’s South African sporthorse buyer is less breeder and more competitor – someone who wants a horse that can enter the ring this season, not in five years’ time.
The top sellers
| Horse | Pedigree | Price | Why this horse stood out |
| Callaho Hang Ten | Callaho Chupalight × (Callaho Lissabon damline) | R 2 200 000 | Effortlessly elastic, careful and modern – the Chupalight son everyone expected to headline. A complete athlete presented with polish. |
| Callaho Lady Fé | Callaho’s Lissabon × (Callaho’s For Joy damline) | R 1 700 000 | Classic Lissabon charisma: scope, temperament and that unmistakable shine. Proof that Callaho’s Lissabon will never go out of style. |
| Callaho I’m All That | I’m Special de Muze × (Callaho’s Con Coriano damline) | R 1 300 000 | The Belgian blood infusion buyers were waiting for – sharp technique and electric reactions in a compact, rideable frame. |
| Callaho Avicci | Alligator Fontaine × (Callaho’s Lissabon damline) | R 1 100 000 | Old-school French power meets Callaho refinement; bold, balanced and expressive. |
| Callaho Farnucci | Callaho’s For Joy × (Callaho’s Benicio damline) | R 1 100 000 | A powerhouse mover with huge canter stride and presence – one of the sale’s most complete ‘ready to produce’ geldings. |
Together, these five horses accounted for nearly a third of the auction’s R 21 million turnover, underscoring how quality, presentation and trust command premium prices.
Interpreting the curve
The temptation is to call the top prices ‘outliers’ or to put them down to ‘hype’, but the data suggests something subtler. With half the horses changing hands between R500 000 and R900 000, the market’s middle tier looks stable, not speculative, and the prices seem a true reflection of buyers’ appetites and confidence.
These figures also align more closely with real European mid-market auctions (in Euro terms) than at any time before, meaning Callaho’s goal of proving South African horses can hold European-level value is starting to bear fruit.
If there’s a warning bell, it’s for breeders: a broodmare average of R220 000 is unsustainable for anyone hoping to breed on a commercial basis. The broodmare buyers at Callaho were almost certainly purchasing for sentiment or bloodline preservation rather than short-term profit.
The wider picture
The Callaho Auction was, by any measure, a masterclass in marketing. It delivered what European breeders have long understood: that trust and presentation are inseparable.
Horses were shown in perfect condition, with professional riders, uniform production values, and complete veterinary transparency. The catalogue itself read like a pedigree dossier, not a sales pamphlet – each pairing explained, each damline justified.
Callaho’s approach feels less like commerce and more like a cultural statement: South Africa can breed, present, and sell at international standard.
That commitment doesn’t come cheap. By the time the dust settles on facilities, staffing, professional video, and buyer hospitality, the sale is almost certainly a loss-leader. But in branding terms, it’s genius. It positions Callaho as both educator and gatekeeper: the Stud that sets the benchmark others must meet.
This raises important questions for the next chapter of South African breeding:
- Will other studs follow this European-style model and embrace the spectacle and marketing polish?
- Or will they take a different approach for their upcoming Auctions, leaning into their own strengths?
These contrasts will define where the industry heads next, but, for now, one truth is clear: buyers are buying belief-in brands, in systems and in bloodlines. Callaho has proven that when the faith is well earned, the market responds in kind. This Auction didn’t just move horses; it moved the goalposts.