Kirk tops the tarps at Stompede auction
The chuckwagon tarp auction for the 2009 Grande Prairie Stompede is in the books and the results are better than expected.
The auction brought in $176,000, down only 4% from last year’s total of $183,500. Emco made a high bid of $14,000 for the rights to Kirk Sutherland’s tarp.
The high bid was one of the few decreases from last year. The low bid remained at $1,750 and the median bid was $4,250, up from $4,000 a year ago.
The results came as a surprise, given the current economic climate.
“If you judge by what’s been going on with all the other auctions, I was thinking more in the 20 to 30% decrease, but it just didn’t happen,” said Stompede president Joel Acton.
The Stompede auction grossed the second-highest amount of the eight WPCA Dodge Pro Tour Satellite Auctions held on Tuesday. Bonnyville had the highest total and was the only auction to see an increase ($12,500) over last year.
The auction for the Battle of the North event in Dawson Creek saw the largest drop, with sales down $40,250 from last year.
While the Pro Tour tarp sales saw an overall decrease of 11% from last year, that number is still significantly better than the decrease in the numbers for the Calgary Stampede auction.
“I was surprised, I actually thought it (Stompede auction) would be quite a bit lower,” said Kelly Sutherland, who received a bid of $5,000 from Kay-Dee Ranching for his tarp.
“I thought it might be down in the neighborhood of around 30% because that’s where Calgary’s sales were, but the last two sales have actually been ahead of that, both the Edmonton and tour auctions.”
Of the monies raised through the tarp auction, 80% goes to the drivers and 20% goes towards the event.
The mild drop in sales is a positive for the Stompede, but Acton said the auction is just one part of what makes the event a success.
“It bodes well for what’s going to happen at the show, but there’s no guarantee that the weather isn’t crappy and no one comes to the show,” Acton said.
“There are many factors that make the show successful and profitable.”
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