Best Jumping in Our Own Backyard

MORE than 530 competitors are arriving from throughout the eastern seaboard to compete in the Scone Horse Trials this weekend at Gundy.

The event is the New South Wales eventing championships, which will be hosted in Scone for the next three years.

Last year: The crowd enjoying the twilight jumping

Blair Richardson, president of the Scone Horse Trials committee said it is a great opportunity for local people to watch some of the best horses in the country jumping.

“There is free entry and the more people the better, we encourage people to come along,” said Mr Richardson.

“The twilight jumping between 5pm and 7pm, there is a marque, a bar and a sausage sizzle, people can buy a roll and watch some of the best horses in the country doing show jumping,” he said.

“There’ll be a good commentator who has ridden a lot, Fiona Hughes in the evening and it’s a great opportunity for people to come and see some of the best horses in the country jumping,” he said.

A jump ready for the Scone Horse Trials on the weekend

“They’re jumping big jumps 1.25m, high and they are seeing horses that are in contention for the Olympic Games,” Blair Richardson said.

Shane Rose, silver medallist of the Beijing Olympics will have two of his horses, which are long listed for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro competing in the three star class on the weekend.

There are 20 in total competing in the three star class, which is the highest class and with fences marked in blue.

The organisers are surprised at the high number of competitors considering they had dropped one of the lower classes, hoping to create more room, but it is a premier event on the calendar and numbers are still very high.

Preparing the course for the Scone Horse Trials

The committee and course designers have gone to great efforts to incorporate a country theme with the jumps on the course including old wagons and new, with some utes as a jump.

Schedule: The trials start at 8am on Saturday.

The younger horses will be on the top level of the grounds.

At lunchtime the lower grade cross-country will start and the dressage show jumping will continue into the evening until 7pm.

The three star class are jumping from 5 until 7 and on Sunday morning competing begins at 8:30am, with the bigger classes in the morning until 10:45am.

Lower grades will then compete throughout the day.

The higher events happen during the morning and early evening as they are the more strenuous courses.

Venue: Broomfield, on Gundy Road, just past Waverly Road, on the left.

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