A team of four Border showjumpers has taken out the Horse Riding Clubs of Victoria’s Top Teams Trophy and with it won the right to host the event in 2016.
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Hosted by Bulla Adult Riding Club at Glenvale, Victoria, the September 5 and 6 event featured more than 100 teams and 400 horse and rider combinations.
The winning team - the Border District Show Jumping Club’s Waratahs - included Jess Bertram on Ceejay Park Private Buddy, her son Caleb on Master Willoughby, Wendy Kimpton on Jamison and Virginnia Armstrong on DP Daisy Duke.
Outstanding individual efforts from riders contributed to the team victory with the Waratahs claiming the top title by a strong margin.
Virginnia Armstrong won all three classes in Level 2B, which saw her crowned overall champion for that level.
Jess Bertram also soared to great heights in Level 1B where she won two classes and was fourth in the final class to also claim champion honours.
Wendy Kimpton competed in Level 3D, winning two classes and coming seventh in her final class to take out reserve champion.
Meanwhile Caleb, the youngest rider in the Level 3 classes, put in a good effort but finished out of the placings.
Ms Bertram said the Border club had sent down a “very strong team of in-form riders and horses” but it was still an impressive achievement for individuals to rise to the occasion for the team when it counted.
She said one of the BDSJC’s strengths was that it catered for the entire family from younger and lower-level riders through to the elite, which helped foster development in the sport.
“The HRCAV event was a fantastic and fun event for us to go to as a team; there was a great atmosphere and everyone was very supportive of each other,” Ms Bertram said.
“The best part is we now get to host this event next year at the Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre where the facilities will be perfect to stage a competition of this magnitude.”
The best part is we get to host this event next year at the Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre.
- Jess Bertram
The BDSJC sent down several other teams for the event with members also enjoying individual success.
Amy Burns picked up a third and fourth place in Level 2; Ella Burns had a sixth placing in Level 4; Sally Harding claimed a second place in Level 5; and Shavorn Stones had an eighth place in Level 2.
Kate Evans rode as a composite rider in the club’s third team (Albury-Wodonga ARC) and picked up a first and fourth ribbon in Level 3.
Both Kimpton and Armstrong took along second horses for other teams with Armstrong taking out a third and sixth placing in her classes there also.
Across the region, riders from other clubs also did the showjumping crowd proud with Amy Ledger claiming the Level 2A championship aboard Pickled Onion for Wangaratta ARC and Francesca Greene (from the same club) taking home a first and a second placing in Level 1A.
