Bits: Equine jeweller in finals, Good Old Days news & AGM time
A WOMAN who makes jewellery from the hair of “the special horses in our lives that leave their hoofprints forever on our heart” has made the finals of the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.
Monika Rodger, of Goulburn NSW, and her business Living Horse Tails has been selected in the jewellery category of the awards and she will be up against a selection of national businesses from across all the capital cities and regional Australia.
The winners will be announced at an event in on September 23.
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EADIE McWilliam, 16, represented Australia in the 2023 FEI Endurance World Championships for young riders in France. Riding Larntainey Silver Treasure, she finished in creditable 19th place from 70 riders. The winner was the UAE’s Rashed Ahmad Seghayer Alktebi and the UAE filled all three top placings.
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THINGS have been busy in the Northern Territory.
The Darwin Dressage Club Championships were held on August 27 in hot, gusty conditions. It made for tense horses but riders took it in their stride and produced some lovely tests in very difficult conditions.
The NT Novelty Night was a great success with lots of excitement.
Sophie Carlton set the Fred’s Pass world record for barrels with a blistering time of 20.63 seconds. The age group champions were lead line Daniel Mutimer, under 13 Kelly Barker, under 18 Layne Martin, senior restricted Marguerite Wall and senior “crazy fast” Kath Burgess.
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AUSTRALIA'S first horse-riding school for people with disabilities has been controversially closed, the ABC reports.
“In a shock move, Help Enterprises shut the McIntyre Centre at Pinjarra Hills in Brisbane's west in July, angering many within the local community and leaving children who used the school, and their families, distressed.
Help was gifted the horse-riding school in 2017 but has repeatedly refused to share the terms of the deed of gift. At the time, the McIntyre Centre's then-board chairman, Mac Boulton, said he was confident the merger would bring "long-term stability".
Help has since sold the centre's much-loved horses, which have been likened to guide dogs in terms of the level of training they need to work with people living with disabilities.”
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THE Central Highland Pleasure Harness Club is hosting the State Indoor/Outdoor Championships this Sunday at Huntly, north of Bendigo.
The event has been described as an “equine spectacular, from the cool and calm to the fast and furious. Pocket rockets at their best in harness.”
Spectators welcome at the Equine Centre, 455 Millwood Rd, from 9.30am.
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THE Equestrian Victoria annual general meeting is scheduled for November 15 at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place via a Teams video conference.
The official notice of meeting will be sent by September 22 and will include the notice of motion form, with responses due by 7pm on October 16. Anyone wishing to nominate for the board must return forms by 7pm on October 15.
Affiliates will also receive a proxy form at this time, which will need to be returned by November 13.
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BRITISH rider Oliver Townend has won the Burghley Horse Trials for the third time and the second with Ballaghmor Class. New Zealander Tim Price and Vitali had led from the start with a brilliant dressage and cross country but 12 faults in the showjumping put paid to a win.
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THE inaugural Tops International auction goes live on September 30 and will present some exceptional sport horses for sale. They range from established sport-horses to the ultimate stars of tomorrow will be presented for sale. The collection consists of foals and five, six, seven and eight year olds.
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IT is the bullock teams’ turn to vie for the perpetual Teamsters Trophy at this year’s Good Old Days Festival at Barellan in southern NSW on September 30 to October 1.
The trophy is awarded on a rotational basis to a different species of draught animal each year to acknowledge their contribution to the building of the nation.
It will be judged this year by Fred Broso and Ian Dahlenburg.
A new addition to the festival program this year is the Little Teamsters trophy to be competed for on a rotational basis by goat, donkey and mule teams. This year the goat teams will compete for the title. The trophies will be awarded to the winning teams on the Sunday afternoon during the grand parade.
Tim Peel, an experienced teamster who presents the trophy each year, said Barellan was becoming known as the teamster’s capital of Australia.
“It is the place where all the different species of draught animals such as horses, bullocks, camels, donkeys, mules and goats gather in teams to demonstrate their traditional forms of work,” he said. “It’s the only place in the world where you will see big teams of 16 to 18 camels in harness, pulling big wagons loaded with wool.
“The Afghan cameleers used strings of camels in the outback to cart goods, but this was always done using packsaddles. Australians started working camels in harness in the 1880s through to the 1940s when motorised transport took over. During the period the camel teamsters developed and refined harness and collars unique to camels.”
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