Equestrian

In an effort to raise much needed funds, the Guy Fawkes Heritage Association is opening its doors at the Ebor Sports and Recreation Grounds for their 20th anniversary on Saturday 12 October ... The Open Day will commence at 10am and see activities such as camp oven cooking by Ranger Nick, who will also facilitate a hands-on damper making workshop for the kids. There will be market stalls, whip cracking, Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Challenge and conclude with a concert, featuring country music singer James Blundell.

Records tumbled at the 2024 Good Old Days Festival as teamsters from around the nation brought out the biggest horse, camel and bullock teams ever seen in modern Australia. The teamsters also excelled themselves with creating a world first – four bullocks, two camels and two horses harnessed together and pulling a wagon.

As the North Central Football League (NCFL) season has now officially drawn to a close, the energy and excitement across Mt. Wycheproof and Nullawil communities is shifting towards putting Buloke on show, one wonderful event at a time ... First-up, the highly anticipated Riordan King of the Mountain races and food and wine picnic ...

East Greenmount equestrian instructor Linda Shore, alongside her student Nicola Saunders from Toowoomba, have just returned from spending a week training and competing in Working Equitation in Canada at the 2024 Cross Nations Cup ... Working Equitation is currently one of the fastest growing new equestrian disciplines in Australia with one of the largest clubs in Queensland based in Toowoomba.

A fantastic one day horse archery clinic will be conducted in Narrandera this Sunday ... subject to there being sufficient entries. Enthusiasts are invited to come and learn in a safe and fun environment from one of the Australian World Championships Team members and top 100 ranked horse archers in the world.

The 8th Light Horse Indi Upper Murray Troop inaugural training day on Sunday at Tintaldra was a mixture of professional instruction and the sheer enjoyment and enthusiasm of participants. Professional tent pegging judge, Terry Phillips, provided tent pegging and skill at arms instruction while Keith Sheather from Adelong set the tone for the training day in his beautifully maintained great-uncle’s Light Horse uniform and his horse Clancy.

Madison Eastmond. A Berri equine charity is searching for volunteers so its therapy services for the wider Riverland community can continue ... Over the past three years, Miracle Park Stables have provided therapeutic avenues for those struggling with mental health and/or have a disability to build self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience and emotional regulation skills through a variety of programs.

Joanna Tucker. Maitland 16-year-old equestrian Kate Mahar represented Australia on the world stage last month. She placed 12th from a field of 16 at the 2024 Youth World Reining Cup in Avare, Brazil ... Ms Mahar was Australia’s only representative, and said her favourite moments were making connections with other young riders in the competition lead-in.

Spring is in the air and with the Olympic dressage watched and rewatched, inspiration has flourished. New, young horses and ponies are out and about in the dressage arenas all around the country. Boneo Park’s August competition held over two days had it all.

"There's no point in taking coal to Newcastle" is an old saying that seems appropriate for what young Ramsay horse trainer Ben Hoey has accomplished as he regularly trains Australian bred Arabian horses for export to rich owners in Arabia. The Hoey family is well known on the Downs as expert horsemen across a variety of disciplines such as Polocrosse, Polo and Endurance Riding and Ben is continuing this proud tradition.

Endurance riding competitions are not a spectator sport but the event is one that is loved by horse owners because it is one where the rider works closely with their horse not for the fastest time to cover a course, but to cover the course in a time that is within the horse’s fitness capabilities … Neeve Whittaker, 17yo of Silver Pinch, completed the 160km on El Sharana Sherif in 14:26, to place 1st in the Junior division.

Narrandera's reputation as a venue for friendly and well-organised Horse Trials continues to grow. The 49th year of horse trials in the Riverina will see an increased number of entries surpassing the 2023 competition when riders and their horses gather at the Narrandera Rodeo and Pony Club grounds next month.

Phoebe Roche has been chosen as part of the eight-person team to compete at the 2024 Virtus Open European Equestrian Championships in the UK ... It's been a long road for Phoebe and her mother, Shaneen ... Shaneen sold her car and organised sausage sizzles and garage sales meaning Phoebe will be able to compete.

Joanna Tucker. Riding for the Disabled’s Yorke Peninsula centre is on the comeback trail after last year being near the brink of collapse. The RDA’s Kadina base was in danger of closing due to a lack of volunteers after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Allora’s Clint Kenny brought home some good wins from the Heavy Horse Festival held over the weekend. His mount Rivoli Royal Revelation was a stand out with two 1st prize wins.

The Edenhope equestrian community is going from strength to strength ... The Edenhope Equine Facility features modern amenities ... The fully off grid system will mean that operating costs for these community groups are greatly reduced ... West Wimmera Shire Council Mayor Tim Meyer said Council was proud to have played a crucial role in bringing the Edenhope Equine Facility to life.

God was so unfair to pigs when he made them so tasty... they are as intelligent as any dog, make great companions, and if only roast crackling wasn’t so delicious, they might have a far happier life. Nigel did ... Nigel was a little black piglet that arrived in a little box, a gift from my father supposedly to be fattened up and dispatched for Christmas dinner.

The dressage world is bubbling with excitement with the Olympic Games just weeks away and the final CPEDI qualifier in Australia begins this weekend at the Hawkesbury Dressage Festival at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. Once this is done, the selectors and EA high performance people will get their heads together to choose the teams.

Serena Kirby. This year’s senior citizen of the year, Louise Swan, has put her love of horses to good use since retiring and moving to Denmark nearly a decade ago. Louise said horses had been her passion since she was five years old and when she discovered there was a local HorsePower centre, she wasted no time in volunteering to help.

Narrandera Adult Riding Club (NARC) recently hosted the BetaVet and Bendigo Bank HRCAV Top Teams Trophy (TTT) Horse Trials - the equivalent of the adult riding club State Championships ... One hundred riders travelled from all over Victoria and southern NSW to compete individually and also made up 23 teams of four riders. The riders competed in three phases over the two days - dressage, show jumping and cross country.

Marrar recently ran their annual Marrar CASE IH JBS Campdraft on a brand new improved arena surface and viewing area which was supported by a grant from the Stronger Communities Fund. The events kicked off at daylight on Friday with the excitement of 900 first round runs to push through.