Mount Duneed delivers an event to be proud of, and a bit more
ROYAL shows and international horse trials are the headline grabbers but never underestimate the importance of the smaller events.
This is often where you find future stars competing in pony club or talented young horses taking their first baby steps to Olympic fame.
Events like the Mount Duneed Horse Trials, held in Barwon region of Victoria each May, are good examples of grass-roots competition at their best.
Run by the local pony club, the Mount Duneed event features a truly great cross-country course, built by volunteers with the guidance of the talented course designer Jarryd Stanley from Wandin Park.
Both open and pony club sections were catered for this year.
In the open section the grade one winner was Emma Russell riding TM Klaude and Jessica Cocks’ bold-jumping Mount View Legale rose from fifth after dressage to win grade two.
Jessica’s win had extra merit as she was handicapped by the fact that her glasses fell off as the horse jumped through the water jump, and a later search failed to find them.
The grade three open winner was Sally Jackson riding Witness. Special mention in this section goes to sixth-placegetter Tegan Rycroft whose mount Tooheyz Extra Dry stole the show, giving the judge’s his own salute.
The grade four open winner was Leisel Parmansche and Delago's Boy.
The grade five open winner was a cute white pony, Bamborough Juene ridden by Arielle Stella.
In the pony club section run from grade three, Tiffany Peters riding Smart Cookie from Leighdale Pony Club won the class, and in grade four, Mount Deneed’s Ella Zele and Aylestone Park Liburnum were third after the dressage and jumped well to win.
The grades five and six are the most fun for the intrepid kids, although their parents are more often found with closed eyes as their offspring approach cross country fences.
Allareece Poppa and Denizen from Mount Duneed Pony Club won the grade five and Luci Freeman riding Diamond, also from Mount Duneed, won grade six.
ABOVE: Jessica Cocks is separated from her spectacles. (Click to expand gallery)
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