Equestrian

Set on 22 acres in Shelbourne, Equine Healing Centre Bendigo was established in 2019, as a place to help people to recover from trauma or for those suffering from emotional and physical burnout to practice restorative self-care, through experiential learning. Owner, Tracey Kenny-Dive, studied at the Equine Psychotherapy Institute in Daylesford as an accredited Equine Assisted Learning Practitioner.

Gary Hoey. Blessed with fine sunny weather for a change, The Downs Polo Club hosted the annual Cooke O’Leary carnival which has been running since the year 2000. The fields were in tremendous condition thanks to a joint effort between the club and Rec Reserve groundsman, Bruce Gilbert ... After a tremendous Match going into extra time the winning A Grade team was Downs Webster Cavanagh ... Champion A Grade pony was awarded to James Hoey’s “Polly”.

Horses are in Ruth Pattie’s blood and her love for equines has blossomed into a full time, not-for-profit sanctuary. Along with her husband Marty and their six daughters, Mrs Pattie runs the Helenvale Horse Sanctuary and Therapeutic Centre at their property near Kalkajaka National Park, half an hour from Cooktown ... The sanctuary currently has 14 horses, most of them elderly, who found their way from all over Far North Queensland.

The St Heliers Heavy Horse Field Days have regrettably had to be cancelled due to wet weather and the condition of the grounds being unfit for the show.

Fewer than 50 people have made it all the way from Cooktown to Healesville since the Bicentennial National Trail opened in 1988. Rob Wylie managed to make it from Cooktown to Tamworth when he attempted it 25 years ago, but daughter Libby is aiming to make it all the way to Victoria – likely sometime next year.

As part of a partnership with Equine Pathways Australia, Racing SA is supporting three South Australian riders competing at the Australian National Para-dressage competition at Boneo Park in Victoria ... the event is a qualifier for the World Equestrian Games to be held in Denmark later in 2022.

Equimillion will showcase the versatility and suitability of Thoroughbreds for careers outside of racing, with the inaugural event to be held on the October long weekend in 2023. The $1 million plus in prizemoney on offer at Equimillion will be distributed across a range of disciplines and classes in the biggest two-day equestrian event ever to be held in NSW.

The Emu Plume Trek which started in Narrandera last weekend is now in the latter stages of its journey to Wagga Wagga after visiting Grong Grong, Ganmain, Coolamon and other villages along the route to Wagga Wagga.

Patricia Gill. Denmark equestrian Andy Forbes has his eyes on the 2024 paralympics in France with the palace of Louis XIV at Versailles the dramatic backdrop to the event. The para equestrian recently won Dressage WA leader board and is classified as a Federation Equestrian International Grade 5 para dressage rider.

Narrandera will be the starting point for a re-enactment of the 131st celebrations of the Riverina Light Horse Association on the last weekend in March. Riders will mark the occasion by taking their mounts in a trek from Narrandera to Wagga to raise funds for a bronze statue.

New research funded by AgriFutures Thoroughbred Horses Program and Racing Victoria aims to reduce workplace health risks by changing the way a jockey is monitored after a concussion to better inform their recovery and return to the track.

A member of the Woodridge Horse and Pony Club, Two Rocks teenager Chenin Hislop has been nominated by president and chief coach Morag Gemmell in the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards WA in the regional service award category.

Nicole Funston. Maldon Pony Club kicked the new year off with a huge weekend of showjumping. On Saturday the club held a twilight freshman’s showjumping event.

Jeff Hanson. A sense of deja vu must have swept over the Narrandera Rodeo Club committee on Friday night, with organisers reluctantly deciding to cancel their 2022 rodeo ... the hard-working committee was expecting a bumper crowd for a big night of thrills and spills but for the second year in a row, the Covid-19 pandemic has reared its ugly head.

Russell Healy. What a race. What a concept. What a result, the Maher Eustace trained Wil John powered over the top of Budd Fox after the gruelling 4600m contest to claim the fourth running of the Jericho Cup. Here at the farm, we cheered harder than most, having bred and sold both his dam and grand dam.

If Alan Lyons isn’t fulfilling his duties as clerk of the course at racetracks around the state, there’s a good chance you’ll find him at his Strathalbyn stables training ex-racehorses for the next stage of their career ... preparing them for clerk of the course positions. “The first thing is to take them away from what they’re used to,” Lyons said.

Wanneroo councillors have given their approval for the city to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Wanneroo Trotting and Training Club for a temporary animal relocation area during emergencies such as bushfires. During the 2019 Yanchep bushfire some Seatrees and Breakwater residents with horses, sheep and alpacas had to leave them behind when they evacuated.

“When I got Penny, it was just after my third operation on my leg. I was sad and frustrated, but she gave me the motivation to start living my dream. I couldn't wait to get off my crutches and start riding again. Penny was being trained to be an Olympic dressage horse, but she sustained a leg injury that she meant could no longer be an elite athlete. After a rest, she is sound and can be ridden, so she is like me now": Travis Newman, 13, cancer survivor and scholarship recipient.

Lisa Clarke. (Image: Vince and Judy Evans, Downunder Images) Thirty-five riders and horses from the WA Endurance Riders Association crossed spectacular countryside in the last ride of the 2021 season at Boat Harbour Camp last month. They tackled the 20, 40, 60 or 80km tracks to the scenic Boat Harbour beach, along local roads, the Denmark/Nornalup Heritage Trail and around the Kordabup Reserve.

The Ned Twohill Teams Eventing saw three generations of riders compete at the Southport Pony & Hack Club last weekend in Queensland. Iris Jenkins, 9 years of age, Tarryn Jenkins, Iris’s mother and Sharon White, Iris's grandmother all represented the Yandina Pony Club at this annual event.

Sheryl Lowe. Representing South Australia in the Pony Club National Competitions 2021 was always going to be hard work, but frequent and unexpected border closures were an added challenge for organisers and the participants, this year. Not to be beaten, Pony Club Australia decided look ‘outside the square’ and hold the competition virtually, state by state.

Serena Kirby. A new exercise therapy will soon be available for Denmark children and adults recovering from serious injury or living with physical disabilities and illnesses. The name of the therapeutic practice, hippotherapy, comes from the Greek word ‘hippos’ meaning horse and roughly translates as ‘treatment with help of a horse’.