Cowgirls Gathering 2027
Horse Sale Subcommittee
We are asking a question, not announcing a sale. The board is proposing a public horse sale at our 2027 event, and calling for expressions of interest in a subcommittee to work out whether it can be done properly.
Why we are doing this
This is deliberately not a decision we have already made. The subcommittee's first job is to test whether a sale can be run to a standard we would be proud to put our name on, and to tell the board honestly if it cannot. There is a formal go or no go point in January 2027, and stopping is a legitimate outcome. If you would only want to be involved in something already guaranteed to happen, this is not that.
If it does go ahead, it will be a public sale of live horses run by a volunteer organisation. The welfare of every horse that comes onto the grounds, and the fairness of every transaction, would sit with the people on this subcommittee. That is why we are asking more of you here than we would for most committee roles.
Recruitment is the first gate
We need a minimum of seven members, and we need the right seven. If we do not attract people with veterinary, auction or stock agent, and consumer law or contract experience between them, the proposal stops here and nothing further happens. This expression of interest is not a formality ahead of the real decisions. It is the first one.
What the subcommittee would decide
The subcommittee would be advisory to the Cowgirls Gathering Ltd board. In practice that means the subcommittee does the thinking and the work, and the board carries the legal and financial risk.
We are proposing that the subcommittee resolves the sale format, horse categories, scale and bidding method, horse eligibility and welfare standards, entry requirements and assessment, buyer and seller protections, disclosures and dispute processes, the selection of horses and vendors against the approved standards, and the operational design, buyer experience and marketing approach.
The board would keep the January 2027 go or no go decision, the budget, anything that binds Cowgirls Gathering Ltd contractually, and the appointment and removal of subcommittee members.
Seven people, four working groups
We are proposing four working groups, and the subcommittee may restructure this once it starts work. Most members would sit in one group and contribute to a second, and nobody sits in a group alone. Please register your interest even if you have never been involved with Cowgirls Gathering before, because the expertise matters more to us here than the history does.
Welfare and assessment
Eligibility, veterinary requirements, disclosures, horse assessment and welfare on the day.
Legal, compliance and finance
Consumer law, contracts, insurance, payment handling, commissions, ownership transfer and budget.
Operations and yards
Venue layout, yards, water, transport, staffing, contingency and emergency response.
Marketing and buyer experience
The catalogue, horse profiles, buyer registration, inspections and communications.
What this would ask of you
We are proposing twelve monthly meetings from November 2026 to October 2027, roughly two hours each, held online, to be confirmed with the subcommittee once formed. Working group time between meetings, realistically four to eight hours a month, and more across July to September 2027. Attendance onsite for the sale and the days beforehand.
Meetings would be checkpoints rather than open ended conversations, each one ending with a decision made or a deliverable finished, and the work happening in the groups in between. Please be honest with yourself about the time before you register. A member who cannot attend is worse than a vacancy, because the group waits on them.
Please read this before you apply
The consignment rule
The board is proposing that for this first sale, subcommittee members may not consign a horse to the sale, or act for a vendor, and that this extends to immediate family and business partners. This is subject to final board resolution before any appointments are made.
Almost everyone qualified to design this sale is active in the horse market. That is exactly why we need you, and exactly why this rule has to be firm. We know it is a real cost, and that some of the best people for this subcommittee would have to choose between shaping the sale and selling in it. This is the first sale Cowgirls Gathering has considered running, we have no precedent to point to, and the people writing the eligibility and reserve rules cannot also be benefiting from them. If a sale becomes an ongoing fixture, the board can revisit this once there is a track record to stand on.
Every other commercial interest must be declared, and would be managed rather than automatically excluded. Owning a float business or working as a farrier does not disqualify you. Failing to declare it does.
The proposed terms
A volunteer role with no fee. Travel and accommodation reimbursed for the sale event only, at rates set by the board in advance. The term would run from appointment to the completion of the post sale review in December 2027, and would not carry into any future sale. Members would be bound by confidentiality, particularly around vendor and horse information, and the board may remove a member.
The draft plan
What you would be taking on
This is the plan we are proposing the subcommittee work to, published so you can see what is involved before you register. The subcommittee would review it as their first order of business, and may change it.
Recruit the committee
- Close and review expressions of interest.
- Select members and confirm working groups.
- Complete confidentiality and conflict declarations.
Committee induction
- Agree on scope and non-negotiable principles.
- Confirm responsibilities and the meeting schedule.
- Allocate initial research and decision processes.
The formal countdown
12 months to sale day
Each meeting ends with a completed decision or deliverable. Working groups do the research and practical work between meetings.
November 2026
Research and consultation
Review Australian sale models and consult buyers, sellers, veterinarians, trainers, transporters, welfare specialists, auctioneers and event organisers.
Research findings, key risks and industry needs documented.
December 2026
Define the sale model
Agree on the sale format, horse categories, proposed scale, onsite requirements, intended buyers and sellers, and live, online or hybrid bidding.
One proposed sale model approved for feasibility testing.
January 2027
Feasibility and go/no-go
Confirm the preliminary budget, venue capacity, legal and insurance pathway, provider availability and staffing requirements.
Formal decision: proceed, revise or stop.
February 2027
Welfare and entry standards
Approve eligibility, identification, veterinary information, disclosures, assessments, prohibited entries, withdrawals and horse-care requirements.
Horse eligibility and welfare standards approved.
March 2027
Buyer and seller protections
Approve vendor declarations, buyer information, inspections, bidding, payments, commissions, ownership transfer, horse release, disputes and passed-in horse processes.
Complete buyer and seller framework approved.
April 2027
Providers and systems
Appoint the auction provider, veterinarian, assessors, legal and insurance support, payment provider, transport support and other essential partners.
Essential providers appointed and core systems mapped.
May 2027
Vendor launch
Open vendor expressions of interest or nominations. Publish eligibility, requirements, fees, assessment process and key dates.
Vendor applications live and enquiry process operating.
June 2027
Horse assessment
Review nominations, request missing information, complete preliminary checks and identify horses requiring further assessment.
Shortlist approved; unsuitable or incomplete entries resolved.
July 2027
Confirm entries
Complete assessments, declarations, veterinary information, photographs and videos. Sign vendor agreements and confirm accepted horses.
Final horses and vendors contractually confirmed.
August 2027
Buyer campaign
Release approved horse profiles, open buyer registration and publish inspection, bidding, payment, transport and collection information.
Buyer journey live, tested and supported.
September 2027
Final readiness
Publish the catalogue and timetable. Confirm horses, reserves, staffing, yards, welfare, transport and emergency processes. Conduct a full rehearsal.
Operational readiness signed off; contingency gaps closed.
Saturday 2 October 2027
Sale day
Complete final horse checks and buyer inspections, deliver the sale, process payments and transfers, control horse release and transport, and complete the post-sale review.
Sale delivered safely, transparently and responsibly.
Hard deadlines
Five decision gates
If a gate cannot be passed, the committee pauses, revises or stops. The event date must never override horse welfare or a safe, workable process.
Model agreed
The committee is testing one defined sale, not debating unlimited possibilities.
Go/no-go
The concept is legally, financially and operationally feasible.
Standards approved
Horse welfare plus buyer and seller protections are enforceable.
Horses confirmed
Every accepted horse has met the approved entry process.
Ready to deliver
Systems, providers, people and contingency plans have been tested.
Register your interest
What we are looking for
Expressions of interest are assessed against these criteria, in this order.
Relevant expertise
Practical, specific experience in at least one of the four working group areas.
Welfare judgement
Evidence that you think about horse welfare in terms of systems and standards, not just good intentions.
Willingness to stop
People who will say a horse should not be sold, or that the sale should not go ahead, when that is the right answer and it is inconvenient.
Availability
Honest capacity to meet the commitment set out above.
Conduct and standing
A clean record on animal welfare, and a reputation for dealing straight.
Group working
The ability to reach a decision with people who disagree with you, and then support it.
How we will assess it
We are running an open call and also approaching specialists directly, because we cannot rely on a vet, an auctioneer and someone with consumer law experience all happening to see this page. Everyone completes the same form and is assessed the same way, whether they came to us or we came to them.
A two person panel shortlists against the criteria above and the board appoints. Shortlisted applicants may be asked a small number of follow up questions. The three written questions carry the most weight, so take your time with them. If you are not successful, we will tell you which criteria you were not the strongest against.
Before you start, here is everything the form asks
The form has no save and resume, so we have set it all out below. Draft your longer answers first, then come back and paste them in.
About you
Your name, email, mobile, address, any horse industry business or brand you operate and its ABN, whether you are a current member, and how long you have been involved with Cowgirls Gathering.
Experience
Your direct experience with horse sales, auctions or livestock selling and in what capacity, relevant qualifications or accreditations, previous committee or board service, something you have helped run at scale whether paid or volunteer, and which working groups you could contribute to with your first preference.
Availability
Whether you can attend monthly meetings from November 2026 to October 2027, how many hours a month you can realistically give, and whether you can be onsite for the sale and the days before it.
Conflicts
Whether you buy, sell, breed, agist, train or transport horses commercially, whether you or an immediate family member or business partner intend to consign a horse or act for a vendor, any interest you or a close associate hold in auction services, saleyards, transport, insurance or bidding platforms, your relationship to Cowgirls Gathering board members, staff or likely suppliers, whether you or a business you control has ever been the subject of an animal welfare complaint, prosecution, ban, sanction or industry body disciplinary finding, and whether you are currently party to any legal dispute arising from a horse sale or horse ownership. A disclosed history is not automatically disqualifying. An undisclosed one is.
Referees
Two, with contact details. At least one must be able to speak to how you conduct yourself in a horse dealing context.
The three written questions
Roughly 200 words each. These carry the most weight in shortlisting.
Why should Cowgirls Gathering run a horse sale at all, and what would make you say it should not go ahead?
What is the single biggest welfare risk in a public horse sale, and how would you manage it?
A horse arrives on sale day and fails its final check. The vendor has paid their fees and travelled six hours. What do you do, and who do you tell?
What you will be signing
The form ends with a signature attached to the following, so read them now rather than at the end.
- The information in this application is true and complete.
- I accept the proposed consignment bar and confirm I am not seeking an exception to it.
- I agree to declare conflicts as they arise and to stand aside from decisions where I have an interest.
- I agree to keep vendor, buyer and horse information confidential.
- I understand that horse welfare takes priority over the event, the budget and the timeline.
- I understand the board may remove me from the subcommittee.
Apply
Register your interest
Expressions of interest close Monday 5 October 2026. If you have questions before you register, email Hello@CowgirlsGathering.com.au.