The first horse sales to be staged in Newton Abbot for decades have been hailed a resounding success, writes Nigel Canham.,

The April 3 auction attracted 49 animals into the ring and drew buyers and sellers from the Midlands, Wales and elsewhere.,

The top price went to a coloured horse which was knocked down for £1,200 and among the 570 equipment lots as much as £370 changed hands for a saddle.,

According to auctioneer Gordon Chambers of Sawdye and Harris the shifting of what is Britain's second largest sale of its kind from Exeter to Newton Abbot could not have gone much better.,