Sport

In an event like the famous Garryowen, where every tiny detail is important – from the quality and cut of the coat and breeches, to the stock, gloves and even the position of the spurs – the leather top boots need to be immaculate. And it’s not an easy task. Well known show horse competitor and judge Claire Uren has always been meticulous in the appearance of her horses and in correct turnout wear, including boots.

The supreme led Welsh exhibit overall for the second year in a row at the NSW All Welsh Show was the Welsh Mountain Pony stallion Waxwing Passport ... Passport also completed the hat trick by winning supreme ridden Welsh exhibit of the show, following on from the same win at both the Victorian and South Australian All Welsh shows this season.

The Denmark Mountain Bike Club hosted the first round of the State downhill series on Sunday, March 5 and local riders dominated the podium atop Lapko Road. Almost 100 riders from across WA made the journey to Denmark for the event now in its third year.

A Narrandera Inland Fisheries Centre team is on site at what is the worst ever mass fish kill to hit the Darling River at Menindee. A constant stream of mostly bony bream has been floating down the river since last Friday morning, as well as golden perch and silver perch and some Murray cod.

Last weekend the weather was hot but perfect for the tough breed of Heavy Horses at the Allora Showground. This being the second year of running the Darling Downs Heavy Horse Festival over two full days. Organisers were thrilled with the crowd of around 5,000 through the gates with Saturday being a huge day.

Not even jet lag ... could distract Grafton’s busiest and most determined eight-year-old from putting her foot down and kick-starting her 2023 racing season with three podium finishes earlier this month ... After finishing third in both races in her Stock Polaris RZR 200, Ruby decided to drive her Polaris Off-Road RZR 570 to familiarise herself with her new vehicle under race conditions in the Endurance Race, and was happy to cross the finish line in second place.

Alyssa Walker. Of those nine, according to the findings of the ongoing Royal Commission, at least one of them is a veteran. "They tell us to look for the warning signs," Charlton RSL head, Bill Freeman, says; "but there are no signs." And how can there be signs, really, when the people themselves feel lost? As it can be with all major turning points in life, with surety and sense of self shaken, there can come danger.

The hardy stock saddle is a much-loved outback symbol but its story has never been written - until now. Wild Ride captures this colourful tale, involving colonial pioneers and Aboriginal stockmen and women; bushrangers and young horsemen sent to the Boer War. It catalogues the earliest models produced by amateurs sewing kneepads onto traditional English saddles, through to the development of the modern stock fender.

The 2023 Bundarra Show with Ute Muster, She'll Be Right Demolition Derby and Arena Sorting was a great success!

While spectators are used to watching youngsters mounted on their ponies doing all sorts of things, pony trots is attracting more and more young drivers. Pony trots is for children aged six to 17 years old with ponies who are no bigger than 13hh in height, and the races are conducted at meetings in the same way as the big guns.

The jingle of chains, the sparkle of big, turning wheels and the steady clop of hooves made the Victorian Tradesmen and Delivery Horse Group show a real pleasure. The group is dedicated to preserving the history and authenticity of the heritage of traditional commercial horse drawn vehicles in Australia by continuing to hold shows at regional agriculture shows throughout Victoria.

After winning in 2022, both Ben Tatt and Olive Spitty have defended their Northern Victorian Triple Golfanza Championships played at Cohuna on Saturday, Barham on Sunday, and culminating with the final round at Kerang on Monday. The 50th staging of this prestigious event saw a full field playing at both Cohuna and Kerang, with the rolling start at Barham having 170 players participate.  

Two full days of Activities,   Displays and   Demonstrations. You’ll be amazed by the gentle giants such as Clydesdales, Percherons, Shires, Australian Draught Horses and Belgians. This year sees 120 magnificent horses displaying their versatility in Breed Led Classes, Working horses and Ridden events including hack, dressage and barrel races.

Pro surfer  Callum Robson  from Evans Head hit a perfect score on a smashing wave in Portugal, Sunday, March 12 ... “Got my first ever 10-point ride when I needed it. That feeling was incredible,” Robson wrote on his Facebook page.

Alyssa Walker. Alister Lamour is a Charlton man who, according to some mates of his who wished to remain anonymous, "is impossible to dislike" He is also an incredibly humble man and doesn’t like talking about himself. This is unfortunate for him, because there are a lot of people who would love to hear about how he’s representing Australia in the F-Class Open World Championships in South Africa.

There is a Shetland-sized hole in the hearts of the Scott family of Emu Creek this week after they said goodbye to Mickey, just shy of his 50th birthday ... It is believed Mickey was used for pony rides at the Melbourne Zoo and at metropolitan race meetings in his younger days but ended up in Bendigo at age 36 when his owners moved into aged care.

Australia's two riders at the FEI Endurance World Championships at Butheeb UAE finished well, with Jodie Salinas and Baroud Rio coming in fifth and Andrea Laws-King riding Heathfield's Bin Sadaqa in 31st position. Australia also featured in the breeding of the magnificent mare Haleh, bred in Australia by Bullio Razorback, winning individual silver.

Lee Mead. Lap swimmers, aerobic mermaids and happy families alike are all extremely grateful to two local legends, Sally and Kerryn, who answered the call out to train as lifeguards. Both undertook a lifeguard training course last year to help overcome the shortage of staff suffered by all swimming pools last season, and which resulted in our Maldon pool having to close some days each week.

Narrandera won the final of the Milliken Shield ... It was the first time in 29 years that Narrandera has won the Shield ... “These boys showed their talent, their will to learn and their will to win. It is fair to say that the game was won by a team of all outstanding performers”: Coach Jono Schofield.

The Upper Murray Pony Club (UMPC) made a well received return to Corryong on Sunday, holding its first rally day since the 2019-2020 bushfires and having recently relocated from Tintaldra to the Corryong Recreation Reserve. Club president and Chief Instructor, Heidi Walton, declared the day a huge success with five junior and four adult riders completing the day’s activities.

Last weekend the Downs Polo Club brought back their annual camp draft after weather-related and covid-related absences from the events calendar. The committee welcomed over 300 competitors to the Allora Showgrounds with many local horsemen and women putting on a spectacular show of horsemanship and equine athleticism.

Hayley Talbot. Renbukan Karate Dojo has operated for over 50 years in the Clarence Valley with several of the original instructors still training hard and instructing each week ... Many hundreds of Clarence Valley men, women and children have trained Renbukan Karate on the Lower Clarence since the 70s with 7th Dan Shihan Ross Roberts and his stable of 5th, 4th, 2nd and 1st Dan black belts and students.