Over the weekend, the 120 best pony club riders and their horses from Victoria and southern New South Wales participated in the 2024 Pony Club Victoria State Horse Trials Championships held at the Finley Pony Club. The pony club spent several months building a state-level cross country course with assistance from the Northern Zone.
The competition included dressage, show jumping and cross country courses, in which scores were combined to determine the overall result after 12 months of qualification for the event.
Amber King-Gee, a local rider, competed with her horse New Indian Rupee in the Grade Three Division B. New Indian Rupee is an ex-racehorse with 18 starts in the Victorian Country Racing, with a third place and one metro start by trainer Nathan Hobson of Swan Hill.
Amber purchased the bay around six years ago and now, New Indian Rupee enjoys the luscious paddocks of Myall.
A special Off The Track (OTT) category is held to encourage riders to enter an ex-racehorse into the competition, where New Indian Rupee and Amber finished in sixth place.
After a tough competition, Amber and New Indian Rupee finished ninth overall in Grade Three Division B. Amber was representing the Northern Zone and Rochester Pony Club.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 16 May 2024.
