Flying hooves kicked up the dust at the Tenterfield saleyards on Friday when local agents Alford and Duff hosted the first horse sale in the town for almost 30 years.

Thirty-nine ridden horses and 20 meatworks horses were featured at the auction. Twenty-three ridden horses were sold at an average price of $800 and a chestnut gelding owned by Dino Petrie of Tenterfield attracted the highest bid of $4,600.

Steve Alford of Alford and Duff said, "The day was well attended, I was very pleased. There must have been over 100 people there.

"People came from a big area. We had sellers, buyers and vendors from Inverell, Bangalow, Lismore, Casino, Ipswich, Warwick, Brisbane as well as people from Tenterfield.

"The day went well; the crowd was good, it was well supported, well run, there were no disputes and everyone paid on the day. The majority of the people buying horses were buying for a reason," Mr Alford said.

"The standard of the horses was very good, the good horses made their money."

One of the biggest surprises of the day came during the auction of saddlery gear, with bids reaching as high as $1,800.

"We're really happy with the saddlery gear, that was the highlight of the day. We were very pleased with the prices," Mr Alford said.

Mr Alford said he was unsure why there had not been a horse sale in Tenterfield since the early 1980s.

"It's hard to say why. Alford and Duff has someone that's very enthusiastic about horses now, whereas before the agents didn't push hard for it before. Everyone's happy with the results," he said.

"I think horse sales are important for the area. Tenterfield's a great cattle and sheep area, the pony club is popular and Tenterfield is the home of the campdraft. Horses are involved in all of this; they're important to our way of life," Mr Alford said.

Mr Alford said the town wouldn't have to wait for another 30 years for another sale.

"I think we'll have another one in 12 months to coincide again with the campdraft next year. It's a social event, a social gathering and people came a long way for it. I'm looking forward to next year."