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Fran Cleland
Mar 13, 20242 min read
Show a spectacle of flying feathers and jingling harness
THE Clydesdale and Heavy Horse Show Held at Werribee Park each year is an absolute spectacle. People have a deep love for the past and...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Forecast not enough to put off determined showies at VASA
“NEITHER rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.” According to Wikipedia, the original...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Carriage drivers cut a dash at Battle of the Borders
CARRIAGE drivers from all around Australia, plus volunteers and visitors from as far away as Canada, made the Level 2 “Battle of the...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Riders relish annual gallop across lakes and craters course
THE course designers at the Lakes and Craters International Horse Trials at Camperdown excelled themselves, constructing an amazing cross...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Young dressage riders hot on heels of today's champions
WHERE not so long ago the show ring was the favourite playground of young riders, now, even diminutive seven-year-olds on 12-hand ponies...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20243 min read
Show Horse Council pulls off the perfect event
IT doesn’t happen often, but when the stars align, an event will shine so brightly that people will smile and talk about it for months....


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
The Clydie cross a policewoman just couldn't leave behind
THE Clydesdale cross is one of the most popular of the performance cross breeds and Second Chance, by Diana Thurgood, is a story that...


Fran Cleland
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Victorian showjumpers score breakthrough win in Trans-Tasman
YOUNG showjumping riders in Victoria are certainly blessed with great opportunities. Two big events at Boneo Park wound up a long and...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20233 min read
Spring classic welcomes Shetlands to show hacks
THE Show Horse Council’s Spring Classic at Werribee Park is one of the last big shows for the year in Victoria before the action heads to...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20232 min read
It was beauty and the weather beast for riders at Mansfield
MANSFIELD holds the distinction of being one of the most beautiful settings for a horse trials in Australia. Like many other events last...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20233 min read
State titles organised in just three months packed to rafters
THE Victorian State Showjumping Titles run by the Northern Victoria Show Jumping Club at Shepparton showed how a great event can be...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20232 min read
Grass surface gets the nod from dressage riders
THE northern part of Victoria is quickly becoming a centre for horse activities, with Elmore, Tatura and some smaller venues having had a...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20232 min read
'Rookie' shaping up as the one to beat this year
SARAH McMillan was named the FEI World Cup Australian League’s “rookie of the year’ in showjumping last year and with her mount, Tyrone,...


Fran Cleland
Nov 29, 20234 min read
Bits: Noorat Show a boomer, Tenterfield Saddlery sells and bushfire fundraiser
NOORAT Agricultural Society’s annual show this year was a record-breaker. At a time when many shows are struggling with declining...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20232 min read
Good luck topping the girls from Ironbark, they're on a roll
THE girls from Ironbark Equestrian Club have done it again. On the back of a win at the Top Teams showjumping championships at Mansfield...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20233 min read
Welsh supreme 'a true hunter type', judge says
THERE’S no denying that the Welsh breed of ponies is one of the world’s most beautiful and the South Australian All Welsh Show at...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20232 min read
Candlebark at capacity as eventers head for Riddells Creek
WITH the Victorian horse trials season in full swing it was odds on that Candlebark, at Riddells Creek, would have great competition. The...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20231 min read
Showjumpers test their skills at SA state championships
ANTHONY Thomas is the 2023 South Australian state champion showjumper after a solid performance over three classes on SL Donato at the...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20232 min read
Time to polish performances as countdown to big event begins
DRESSAGE with the Stars is just six months away so it’s time to begin putting the polish on the performances so the overseas judges will...


Fran Cleland
Nov 22, 20235 min read
Bits: Highlands moving, horse strategy & a herd reduction
THE Highland Pony breeding program at Balmoral Castle in Scotland is to be moved to England. Buckingham Palace said breeding would now be...
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