While most folks were braving their way through the hustle and bustle of the post Thanksgiving Day Christmas sales, a good number of people found all the deals they wanted at the Iredell County Fairgrounds.
"This is what you might call the 'Horses Black Friday,' " said Mike Garrett of the Dixie Draft Horse & Carriage Auction, which was held last Friday and Saturday. "This is where the cowboys come for their Christmas shopping."
Garrett, a tack salesman from Norfolk, Va., was one of about 30 venders at the event.
Another was Allen Wengerd, who also sold tack as well as buggies and other horse accessories.
Like many at the Dixie, Wengerd is of the Amish faith.
Wengerd is an amicable man from central Ohio whose long but mustache-less beard is an easy giveaway as to his religious practices.
Wengerd does not drive a car and his house is not outfitted with electricity.
"Modern things are not a benefit to our way of life," Wengerd explained matter-of-factly.
Theresa Brown is an artist from Franklin County who specializes in horse paintings.
She said the crowd at the Dixie is inspiring.
"The word that comes to mind right away, I think, is 'energy,' " Brown said. "The crowds here are so diverse. They range from people who are nearly homeless to those who are pretty well-off. And the whole thing is so timeless. It's like stepping back into another era."
Julie Mason has a slightly different take on the Dixie Auction.
"This is cowboy heaven," said Mason, who made the trip to Troutman from South Carolina with her sister-in-law Teresa Crearmon.
"This is our first time here," Mason added. "But it won't be our last. We both have our own cowboys but we love to be around them."
Mason bought a bridal for her horse that had $35 sticker on it.
"But I gave him $25," she said. "I just sweet-talked him a little bit. That's all you got to do with these cowboys."
Sonya Michael drove in from Gibsonville, on the other side of Greensboro in Guilford County.
"Why did I come out here? Why does any woman go anywhere?" Michael asked rhetorically and then answered, "To shop and look at men."
She showed her purchase of gem-studded belt.
"I love it out here," added Michael, who like about two-thirds of the auction's visitors, was clad in a cowboy hat and cowboy boots.
But the event's big draw are the auctions.
On Saturday equine animals of all description — from ponies to riding horses to beasts of burden — were sold to the highest bidders.
Dean Beachy is the event's director.
Beachy comes in from Ohio twice a year to host the Dixie.
"This is big," he said. "For a lot of people this is their big vacation."
Beachy said some 700 horses, donkeys and ponies and about 200 carriages changed hands via the auction. He said the price range on the horses was from about $400 to $5,000.
"It's the auction that brings them in," Beachy said. "But there is a lot going on here."
Troutman Police Chief Matthew Selves would attest to that.
Selves said there were thousands in attendance Saturday. And that crowd, he said, was only a fraction of the one on Friday. A police estimate for that day was in excess of 10,000.
"It was a good crowd, though," Selves said. "We didn't have any trouble at all."
The Dixie Draft Horse & Carriage Auction comes to the fairgrounds again in March.
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