When the show scene goes into hibernation over winter in the southern states, the Northern Territory springs into action.
The NT has an active show horse community and several top-class shows are run during the dry season, including the Darwin Show Horse Club’s State Show Horse and Riding Championships that has just been held at the Darwin Showgrounds.
Hosted by the the Darwin Show Horse Club, the show is a qualifier for Equestrian Australia’s National Show Horse and Rider Championships to be held in Sydney at the end of the year.
A program of unofficial classes was also held on the day so riders had plenty to keep themselves busy.
Continuing the tradition of using interstate judges, the club flew in Neil Carpenter, NSW, and Tanya Chapman, South Australia, to officiate.
There is a strong contingent of show hunters being campaigned in Darwin this year, with entries in all height classes.
Tammy Shepherd’s McGyver and Samantha Cargeeg’s Clydeandvale Inquisitive are both upstanding hunter types with perfect manners and took the championships in the small and large show hunter classes.
Harrison Branson riding Roper Bar Brumby (aka Arrow) – featured in The Regional in September last year – continues to shine as a talented young rider and add to their list of achievements.
The pair took the sash for child’s show hunter hack, the reserve championship in the open hunter and third place in his rider class to Reese Callow and Asheligh Overall.
Tiny Matilda Wilson had a busy and successful show winning the leading rein show pony on Koorootang IMP and the leading rein show hunter with Kurana Park Charm.
Breeders in the south of the country would recognise their prefixes with Cheraton Valentina ridden by Charli Hebbron winning the open large galloway, Allambie Park Belladonna winning the large pony show hunter sash for Ashleigh Overall with the reserve in that section going to Cards of Sefton shown by Grace McDonald.
Grace also rode Justify to possibly be the most decorated combination for the weekend, winning the child’s show hack, the open show hack and carrying his rider to a win in the rider 15 to 17.
The Darwin Royal Show is just two weeks away from July 27 to 29, followed by the NT Show Horse Association’s Horse of the Year and Riding Championships on August 20, so there will be no rest for Darwin’s show horses for a while yet.
See the whole gallery at The Regional.
Download championship results
This article appeared on The Regional on 12 July 2023.
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