Golden Hills Trail Rides and Resort – the huge equestrian community and getaway southeast of Raymondville – will be sold in an auction in late September.
The sale will be conducted Sept. 29 and 30 (beginning at 10 a.m. each day) by Higgenbotham Auctioneers, of Lakeland, Fla. Long-time auctioneer Marty Higgenbotham said the approximately 3,800-acre main property (and its numerous buildings and facilities) and land in the adjacent Golden Trails Subdivision will sold in more than 50 parcels.
Higgenbotham said the main property will be divided into 23 parcels ranging in size from about 10 to 600 acres.
“People will be able to buy any part or parts,” he said. “If somebody wanted to buy the whole ranch, they could do that, too.”
Some of the structures and amenities involved in the auction include Golden Hills’ 10,000 square foot main building (that houses a general store, the resort office and a restaurant space), a large dining hall (with a huge kitchen equipped with many commercial-grade appliances), a 21-room motel, a swimming pool and adjacent covered seating area, a large showing arena, a house situated next to the main building, dozens of horse barns, paddocks and stalls, and more. There will also be numerous pieces of equipment sold, and land within the subdivision will be auctioned off in five-acre tracts.
“Everybody will be given the opportunity to buy whatever they want to buy,” Higgenbotham said. “It’s the fairest way I know of to offer a piece of real estate like this. We’ve been doing this 60 years, and it works.”
Higgenbotham founded his auction company in 1959, and it has since become one of the largest auction firms in the nation. He is a past president of the National Auctioneers Association and also serves as a consultant to attorneys, trust departments, executors of estates and financial institutions across the country.
Golden Hills owners Chuck and Kay Golden moved to Texas County in 1978 after selling a successful chain of six fitness gyms in Arizona. Following the auction, they plan to move back to Gilbert, Ariz., to be close to family members and enjoy warmer winters.
“I kind of hate to turn loose of it,” Chuck said. “There’s a lot of potential still here.”
“I feel good about it,” Kay said. “We’ll get to do things we haven’t done in years. But we’ve made a lot of great memories here.”
Higgenbotham has scheduled a trio of public previews of the property, which are set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends of Sept. 1 and 2, 15 and 16, and 22 and 23.
“I think it’s important for people to understand they should get there for the first preview,” Higgenbotham said, “because that will give them a month to get their act together – to get their friends, relatives, money or whatever else they need to get together.”
MORE ABOUT THE AUCTION
To view information about the auction, details about Golden Hills Trail Rides and Resort and a comprehensive photo gallery, log onto www.higgenbothamauctioneers.com.