This Year’s King of the Ranges

DAVID Mitchell from Tooma said he just kept rocking up and at the end of the day with a bit of luck and hard work was crowned King of the Ranges for 2019 in Murrurundi on the weekend.

David who has won the King of the Ranges twice before in 2012 and 2014 and was in the top three for the last four years said he learns every time he competes and encourages young people to give it a crack.

David Mitchell King of the Ranges for 2019. Photo: Patricia Taylor Photography.

“There’s not too many challenges like it in the country, it’s a test of all ’round horsemanship and it’s not stuff that we don’t do everyday in farming, we takes dogs to work and a whip to work, ride plenty of horses and do our own breaking, so it’s all very similar,” said Mr Mitchell.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t have to be the best at everything, but you’ve got to be good and consistent and keep chipping away,” he said.

“You’ve just to get out and have a go and not expect to win it the first year, just go out there and you get judged on everything and if you don’t understand ask the judge it’s the best way to learn; especially with shoeing you go in there and get critiqued every event and you can see what everyone else is doing and see what the judge has to say about them and you learn so much more a hell of a lot quicker,” he said.

“And I’d like to thank the sponsors who make this such a great event,” David Mitchell said.

David Mitchell scored 691.60, with Carl Green in second place with a close 629.30 points.

Emma O’Shea became Ladies King of the Ranges Champion on 619.7, Travis Bandy was Junior Champion scoring 573.75and Bernie McMaugh was the Novice Winner with 511.9.

Patricia Taylor committee member of the King of the Ranges said the competition was very close this year and just keeps getting better.

“This year was one of the biggest, even with all the dust and the wind,” laughed Patricia.

“We had 66 competitors from Victoria, New South Wales and even Doomadgee in the Gulf Country,” she said.

“The entries for the junior section was probably the biggest we’ve ever had and the ladies competition and novice were also up in numbers this year,” she said.

“In general the calibre of the competition is increasing and the number of competitors,” she said.

“We also had more stall holders this year and events like the goat races were are popular as ever,” Patricia Taylor said.