Wild weather didn’t stop riders or horses from flying high at the recent Border Districts Showjumping Club autumn mini prix show at the Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre.
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Event organiser Jess Bertram said the weather oscillated from 35 degrees in the week leading up to the April 14 and 15 event to “crazy winds and rain”.
But as we’ve come to expect with the BDSJC, the event featured “terrific jumping” by riders from across Victoria and NSW, with some competitors travelling more than five hours to attend the
“The calibre of riders at this show was very good, which saw excellent jumping rounds and a great competition for our local stars to compete against,” Mrs Bertram said.
In Ring 1, held on the sand arena, classes ranged from 105cm to 135cm with the course for the main event – the Mini Prix 135cm – designed by Mark Brennan.
It was a hotly contested event with 13 starters and five sent into the jump-off with Stephen Dingwell, from Murrumbateman NSW, taking out the top prize and the runner-up title.
Meanwhile in the second ring held on grass, local junior riders and less experienced senior riders tackled the 60cm to 104cm classes.
The BDSJC celebrated its 40-year anniversary in 2017 and Mrs Bertram said it was gratifying to see the club still functioning well and with the capacity to host great events such as the mini prix.
“We owe much thanks to our hardworking committees and our volunteer helpers,” she said.
“With this type of show, we have to set up on the Friday and work from dawn to dusk on show days then pack up on the Sunday afternoon.
“It is a big effort from our small band of hard workers and we are all very thankful for this.”
Mrs Bertram said the committee was dedicated to keeping the sport of showjumping strong in the region and supporting local riders with competition opportunities.
“AWEC is a great venue and our competitors travel far and wide to come and compete with us at our bigger events such as this one,” she said.
“We run two big shows each year – this one and later in the year in August our Grand Prix Show.
“We fill in the rest of the time travelling to the agricultural shows in the district and also conducting rallies and clinics in the down season.
“We have a strong junior base coming up through the ranks and foster our sport at a grass roots level.”
“We owe much thanks to our hardworking committees and our volunteer helpers. With this type of show, we have to set up on the Friday and work from dawn to dusk on show days then pack up on the Sunday afternoon.
- Jess Bertram
The Grand Prix Show will be held August 18 and 19.
HIGHLIGHTS
Class 1a – 1.05m
1st RSB Morse Code, Amy Cleland; 2nd The Pickled Onion, Sarah Cavill; 3rd EABS Catalina, Des Gleeson; 4th Festina Lente, Trent Lappin
Class 1b - 1.05m
1st Coolart Farm Hopscotch, Brianna Smith; 2nd Alcheringa Tradition, Kayla Hogg; 3rd Glenwood Extra Time, Stuart Abrahams; 4th Marine Park Skipper Felicity Devereux
Class 2 – 1.15m
1st Franklins Peace, Damian Churchill; 2nd Dennison Park Harley, Catherine Smith; 3rd RSB Morse Code, Amy Cleland; 4th ESB Golden Geisha, Sophia Landy
Class 3 – 1.25m
1st Little Bear, Michael Cross; 2nd Vertigo, Murray Spoull; 3rd Mingarra Mia, Des Gleeson; 4th Valeska, Shimona Fraid
Class 4 – 1.35m
1st Cavalier Ludicrous, Stephen Dingwall; 2nd Cavalier Du Rouet, Stephen Dingwall; 3rd Cobra De Capello, Jacob Wells; 4th Luchia Elmare, Scottie Barclay
Class 12 - 90cm
1st Tuppal Mac, Christine Staats; 2nd Ceejay Park Private Buddy, Caleb Bertram; 3rd Starsky, Caleb Bertram; 4th Robins, Stephen Dingwall
- Full results – go to the BDSJC Facebook page.