The historic Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., was the site of the Mid-West Hackney Fall Sale on Oct. 18, 2008, and the crisp fall weather, the excellent line-up of pony consignments and tack all combined for a very successful sale.

The gross pony sale was $53,625.00 for a sale average of $1,625. The top five selling ponies grossed $30,000 with a top five average of $6,000 and the top 10 ponies sold for a combined total of $42,150 for a $4,215 average. The high selling pony on the sale was Heartland Glorious, a three-year-old roadster pony by Heartland Code Of Honor. This pony was a consignment of Darrel and Sandy Kolkman of Heartland Hackney Farm in New London, Iowa and sold for $8,000 to Bruce Ekstrom and Charles McCallister of Ocala, Fla.

The tack sale had an excellent selection this year of show and training equipment as well as carts and general stable equipment. The tack sale grossed just under $20,000. The Mid-West Hackney Association also offered a silent auction that ran during the sale with many items to bid on as well as the usual raffle which included a gift certificate from Jerald Sulky Company, a handmade iron table with a Hackney motif donated by Rick and Michelle Medd and a groom cart and a mare bit that was donated by Herron's Tack.

The Mid-West Hackney Association also held their general membership meeting at this time and the new officers for 2009 are as follows: Mike Herron, president, Dan Light, first vice president, Jerry Elmer, second vice president and Karen Wood, secretary/treasurer. The remaining board members consist of Judy Ingham, Brett Hoerr, DVM, Darrel Kolkman, Rick Medd, Kathy Oakes, Jim Spurrier, Darlene Horner and Dwayne Yozamp.

Mid-West Hackney offers an excellent futurity program for pony weanlings through three-year-olds along with jackpot classes for the four and five-year-old ponies that have been kept eligible. Further information on the sale and the futurity may be found on the organization's web site at www.midwesthackney.com .