Gareth Hughes adjusts his new cowboy hat and settles in front of the microphone to sell livestock at the Calgary Stampede.
The 26-year-old made the 30-hour trip from South Africa to compete in the international livestock auctioneers’ competition held July 15-16 and came away impressed by the North Americans.
“Every one of the auctioneers are really great and sound really amazing,” he said.
He is a full-time livestock auctioneer in South Africa but trained in Iowa in 2012 because he liked the North American style of selling. He won the South African auctioneer competition in 2015 and wanted to go further.
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“I always wanted to be able to sell like them. I like the style, the rhythm and I love the rattle,” he said. “I use the American style but we sell in two languages, English and Afrikaans,” he said.
The cattle industry in South Africa is short on numbers due to drought, so prices are up.
They use a similar system of order buyers selecting cattle for feedlots, but his auction sells all kinds of livestock, including sheep, goats, cattle and horses.
Cattle types are similar to North America and include British, Continental and Brahman types as well as a South African breed, Bonsmara, a three-way cross of Here-ford, Shorthorn and Afrikaan, a native breed.
