|
13 / 14 June 
The gods were smiling upon us as the weekend came. The sun came out and 24 riders participated over 10 sessions. I apologise to all those who missed out and there were quite a few, but the response was huge. It was a great weekend with all of us just really happy to be jumping again. Some riders travelled quite a distance with Rachelle and Sheridan Hirst down from Maclean – thanks to mum Karen, and Venita Colquhoun from Dorrigo. I was only able to watch some of the riders and horses but it was clear that working with such an experienced coach meant that every rider benefited, although often in different ways. For some being encouraged to jump outside their comfort zone resulted in a gain in confidence in either themselves, their horses or both. Others were able to sort out problems they were having with their horses while some just gained much more experience. Each day started with showjumping. Putting the right number of strides in, correct position and different ideas specific to horse and rider combinations gave us all something to think about and work on. The first group on Sunday was a déjà vu of the Coffs Show with Karen Mitchell, Alyce Nagle and Mez Fitzgerald out there together. Kira Faulkner jumped well with Sun Dance in a bitless bridle. It was a great chance to see this bridle in use and to have a chance to talk with Kira about it. I think Rebecca Brauer and I felt challenged at times with the showjumping but we came out smiling. Alex Watt looked great on her talented pony Silver. Despite the floods there was still a good selection of X-country jumps to train over and the water jumps are always good practice. Venita ably riding her stock horse Crackers felt complemented when Sharmayne took quite a shine to Crackers as he nonchalantly continued to pop over the bigger jumps. Gaby Tate was thrilled how Casper jumped and Sarah McEwan moved ahead really well with Shadow. It was good to see Alex out on her new boy Anthony. At the end of each day the feedback from everyone was very positive with lots of requests for a repeat. I would like to thank our photographic team – the Dad’s starred with James, Neil and Steve doing much of the work. For Rachelle and the others who helped many thanks - unfortunately my memory lost track of who was out there. Also thanks to the riders and mothers who helped putting the poles up and down, to those who helped set up the showjumping training area on the Friday and to Paul Parish for organising the water jump. It was more difficult this time with the slippery bank almost claiming a victim as he manoeuvred the pump down the track. Welcome to new members Chantel Fennell, Natasha Marr, Venita Colquhoun and Ann and Sonya Shipman. The only disappointing part of the weekend was an unfortunate fall by Stephanie Watt on the X-country course. This resulted in a very bad upper arm break and now quite some time out of the saddle. We all hope the healing progresses rapidly. Sharmayne has expressed interest in returning for another weekend, so stay tuned. See you then Carol Wright Click here to view the gallery
|
