Jacki Baker, The Naracoorte News
The 51st Naracoorte Horse Trials will be held this weekend, May 16-18.
The event will begin with the Margie Stuart Dressage and Showjumping day on Friday, incorporating interschool combined training and open dressage, and showjumping from 12pm at the Naracoorte Polocrosse Club, Hynam.
On Saturday, the Horse Trials begin with the dressage and showjumping phases being held also at Hynam from 8.30am.
The event culminates on Sunday with the cross-country phase at the beautiful Strathyre property belonging to the Stuart and Wight families – the spiritual home of the event for all of its 51 year history.
The event is held in high regard throughout South Australia and Victoria with 189 entries being received for the weekend.
There are six levels of competition, ranging from an introductory level at 65cm-height jumps to national 3* level where the jumps can be up to 1.2m.
This year, the organising committee is excited to welcome a new cross-country course designer to Naracoorte, only the 6th designer in all of the 50+ years.
Sylvia Williams-Roberts will design the course, helped by her right-hand man, husband Roger as builder.
Sylvia began her pony club involvement in South Australia at the Waikerie Pony Club at the age of eight. She later moved to Warwick, Queensland, where she represented the state in pony club eventing and, subsequently, as an adult rider.
She won Eventing Queensland Horse & Rider of the year in 1995, and was a founding member of the Warwick Horse Trial Club, where she began her cross-country course designing career.
She gained FEI level 3 course design accreditation in 2013 and is one of only two women in the world to attain this level. From 2014 onwards, she has travelled around Australia course designing in all states, and travelled overseas and designed courses in USA, India, and was mentored by Cpt Mark Phillips at Gatcombe and Burghley Horse Trials in UK.
She has most recently been on the design team at the Adelaide International Three-Day Event for 10 years and 4 Course Designer and Assist 5 CD for several years.
The Naracoorte Horse Trials committee could not run this event without the support of numerous volunteers who help prepare the venues, judge cross-country and scribe during the dressage and showjumping phases.
The committee is also indebted to the long term major supporters of the event: MiniJumbuk, Naracoorte Lucindale Council, Tyrepower, Murray Nankivill, IRT Horse Transport, Elders, Beeline Car and Truck Wash, Betta Electrical and Cadgee Park Racing.
This article appeared in The Naracoorte News, 14 May 2025.
