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EQUITANA 2013 WRAP UP & HORSEZONE COMPETITION WINNER!

Published on Thursday, November 14, 2013 in 2013 Equitana

The spectacular opening to the Australian Open Reining Championships

(photo: Stephen Mowbray) view more photos from Thursday here

Jamie Winning and Wirragulla Nicklaus (photo: Stephen Mowbray)

View more photos from Friday here

The TuffRock stand was Tim's favourite

 

Heath Ryan and Regardez Moi won the Grand Prix Dressage Freestyle, which was Sarah's favourite competition (photo: Stephen Mowbray)

View all photos from the Dressage here and more photos from Saturday here

Pat Parelli was Jo's favourite presenter/trainer

 

The Peter Horobin Saddlery stand was Sarah's favourite

 

Jack the Appy (aka The Socialite) was Jasmine's favourite horse (she even took this perfect photo of him!)

The Man From Snowy River Legends' challenge was Jo's favourite 'something new' (photo: Stephen Mowbray) View more photos from Sunday here

 

The Cambridge Collection was Jasmine's favourite stand

 

The sun has set on another amazing EQUITANA and the Horsezone team was thrilled to be a part of it all again this year. 

As always there was so much to see with top quality competitions and training sessions taking place every minute of the four days, not to mention all the wonderful trade stands, which offered excellent opportunities for retail therapy!

If you attended EQUITANA we hope the Horsezone Guide helped out with planning your visit.

The Horsezone team are all horse obsessed (read more about us here) so working at EQUITANA was a fabulous experience. Tim, Jo, Sarah and Jasmine (who joined us from the Bloodstock team for three days) manned the Horsezone stand, where we had the opportunity to meet hundreds of EQUITANA visitors. It was fantastic to catch up with so many people who love the Horsezone website and use it on a regular basis with success, either to advertise or to purchase! For those we helped with setting up email alerts, best of luck with finding your perfect equine match and for those who created ads, we’re sure you’ll find a great new home for your horse soon.

During EQUITANA we ran the competition to win a $1000 Harvey World Travel Voucher, a night's accommodation at Crown Promenade, RB Sellars voucher, plus heaps of Horsezone goodies. We would love to be able to say that you've all won, however, there can only be one winner and on this occasion it was Vickii Lett from Kurrajong, NSW. Congratulations Vickii!

Meeting and helping Horsezone advertisers and those looking for horses was our number one goal, so we didn't get to see all the competitions and clinics on offer, however, we still managed to sample the wonders of EQUITANA. Following are favourites and insights from each member of the Horsezone team - if you didn't get to attend this year, these tidbits might tempt you to plan a trip to EQUTIANA Melbourne in 2014.

Favourite…

Trade stand

Tim: The TuffRock stand because Steve Hurley is so passionate about his product, he even puts TuffRock on people to heal them!

Jo: Just one? Probably Black Label Equestrian's Hitchley and Harrow stand because I absolutely love their colourful and well-tailored shirts, such attention to detail in every one.

Sarah: The Peter Horobin Saddlery stand was beautifully laid out with top quality saddles and equipment.

Jasmine: The Cambridge Collection stand - a Kiwi company who design and make exquisite horse themed jewellery. This was their first time at EQUITANA.

Training session

Tim: 'Secret Men's Business' with Tor Van Den Burge, Brett Parbery and David Shoebridge - these guys are so happy to share their strengths but also weaknesses and help everyone improve. It was a fun, informative session that was well constructed.

Jo: 'An Introduction to Western Dressage' with Linda Shore because this sport is so new in Australia and I'm interested in having a go! I would have loved the Al Dunning Horsemanship Clinic but I wasn’t able to catch that one.

Sarah: It’s hard to choose! A tie between 'Brett Parbery – Dressage Simplified' and the 'Dressage Clinic with Carl Hester'.

Jasmine: The 'Dressage Clinic with Carl Hester'.

Competition

Tim: The 'Be The Influence' Equestrian Grand Final Jumping on Friday night was a fantastic competition.

Jo: The Australian Open Reining Championships and Australian Open Barrel Racing Championships were pretty fabulous. I also found the Arabian Horse Breeders Alliance Australasia Cup Led Classes, where three judges held up the scores on cards for each category and the crowd are allowed to pat the horses, while total scores were being calculated, interesting. The 'Mini-Tana' was great too!

Sarah: The 'Be The Influence' Equestrian Grand Final – Dressage Freestyle.

Jasmine: The 'Be The Influence' Exhibition Eventing.

Presenter/Trainer

Tim: Carl Hester, he is a dressage God really!

Jo: There were so many great presenters but Al Dunning and the amazing Pat Parelli, who has such a wonderful way with words, were probably my favourites.

Sarah: A tie between Carl Hester and Brett Parbery.

Jasmine: Carl Hester.

Horse

Tim: I loved Jamie Winning's new Horse Wirragulla Nicklaus. Every time they step out it's a stronger combination than the time before, I'll even put my money where my mouth is and say that Jamie will represent Australia at WEG in 2014. Watch this space!

Jo: Triandibo Infullplay - a sweet five year old Quarter Horse in the ‘Wayne Hipsley Western Set Equitation: Winning Tips for Western Riders’ session. A lovely soft mover who was beautifully educated. It was also great to see STALLIONZONE stallions Sandrels, Lauries As and RanchBoss Cortez in action during various clinics!

Sarah: PPH Zeppelin, who Brett Parbery rode during the 'Secrets Men’s business' session.

Jasmine: Jack the Appy (aka The Socialite) in the Kelato Breed Village, such a friendly boy who loved his fans.

Rider

Tim: I thought that Brett Parbery was amazing, from dressage to Roman riding and even a bit of comedy!

Jo: So many great riders! Aside from the top Reining, Jumping and Dressage riders, I have to pick Trish Wettenhall in the Western Equitation session and Mark Ferguson in the Western Pleasure sessions – these riders were soft and kind and made western pleasure look like a pleasure!

Sarah:Robbie Soster in Carl Hester's clinic on Friday afternoon.

Jasmine:Carl Hester.

Something new

Tim: I really enjoyed being introduced to Reining, the skill of those trainers and horses was fantastic!

Jo: The Man From Snowy River Legends Challenge was new for me and entertaining! I also liked a new product at the BSM Stand, a feed tub that helps with horses who bolt their food (stay tuned for more on this product in coming weeks).

Sarah: ‘Horsemanship with Al Dunning’ clinic was something different for me.

Jasmine: EQUITANA provided me with a great opportunity to learn more about Western pleasure. Jo pointed me in the right direction in terms of good horses and clinics to watch.

Something surprising

Tim: It was very interesting watching Al Dunning start a young horse for cutting. He was fairly tough to start with but the response was amazing.

Jo: The number of companies promoting horseback treks in Africa. Our next door stand ‘Rides on the Wild Side’ had amazing holidays on offer and fantastic tales from innumerable African adventures. I want to go!

Sarah: How simple our riding and horsemanship can be and how complicated we make it for ourselves and our horses.

Jasmine: The copious amounts of bling everywhere!

Personal Highlights

Tim: I loved being in horsey heaven for four days straight, where everyone was just wanting to live and breathe horses!

Jo: Meeting Al Dunning – such a friendly, down to earth person who really wants to help others. Also, the press conference with Carl Hester, Linda and Pat Parelli and Al Dunning – not every day you get to chat to a dressage gold medallist and western legends at the same time (stay tuned for the article)!

Sarah: Having such amazing riders and coaches from all over the world and Australia in the one place to assist us and share their knowledge.

Jasmine: Watching the Carl Hester clinic.

Horsezone stand standouts

Tim: There were so many people who had either bought or sold their horse through us! Hearing that makes us realise that we are having such an impact on the equine world. My favourite experience was chatting to a young girl who had bought her pony through Horsezone and seeing the excitement on her face as she told me about it. 

Jo: Meeting so many people from all over Australia – heaps from Northern Territory – and New Zealand, who love and use Horsezone! Also getting to chat to the people who follow our Facebook page and read the newsletter. It’s wonderful to know when I send the newsletter off into cyberspace each week that people actually read it. It was also great to meet the ladies from ABHA and sign their club up to the Club Contribution Scheme and integration!

Sarah: A Young girl who had tried out two premium performance horses that were for sale on Horsezone, one of which was featured on a poster in our stand, and she bought him! 

Jasmine: I don't specifically have just one, but the positive feedback was great, I spoke to many people that had had huge success with buying and selling from the site.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO STEPHEN MOWBRAY FOR TAKING SO MANY FABULOUS PHOTOS FOR US!!

Quick Links

Check out more photos from the EQUITANA Open Barrel Racing Championships here


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