Five Minutes With... Jim Hiscock - Coonamble Campdraft

The 57th Landmark Coonamble Rodeo and Campdraft took over the Western Plains last weekend and was more popular than ever!  The event, which is renowned as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, was held in the Central West town of Coonamble, six hours North West of Sydney.

Horsezone were one of the proud sponsors of the Coonamble Campdraft and we caught up with Jim Hiscock from the Coonamble Committee to find out more about this iconic event...

Jim, this year's event seemed to be bigger than ever - how many entries did you receive?

Entries were opened on Friday 6 May and were closed by Wednesday 11 due to overwhelming response and the fact that the allocated 1200 first round runs had already been reached!

How do you calculate how many runs there are going to be for the campdraft?

The goal is to achieve 40 runs per hour for approximately 10 hours per day, for three days. Another 120 to 130 runs are then added, usually a minimum of 10% of the first round scorers make it into a final.  With a few riders scratching before the event the committee was fairly comfortable they could achieve the numbers on the 3 days.

Campdrafting is a hugely popular sport - did many people who were keen to compete miss out?

Unfortunately many competitors were turned away as they missed out on making the 1200 run cut off. The committee have tried different formulas to try and allow as many different people to attend as possible.  Due to the popularity of the great sport of campdrafting, there are always more competitors than time available to get them all done!  In recent changes to the ACA (mainly Queensland area) their nominations are now available on-line (Coonamble is an ABCRA Campdraft). I heard of an instance where the whole weekend (2 days) filled in less than one hour of opening.

How many cattle did you need for the weekend?

I would estimate it was not far short of 1500, as we like to have some spare in case of a breakout or unforeseen incident were we may need a few extra. Cattle are never used twice at a campdraft. To explain why is simple. They are pretty smart and once they have been onto the arena they use the exit gate. If we were to use them a second time they would leave the cut out yard and make a “bee line” for the exit gate, hence not giving the rider a fair chance to complete the course.

Where do you get all those cattle from?

There is a long list of generous cattle donors who readily make their animals available to the committee. Bucknell Family – Quambone Station; Halcroft & Bennett; and Ledden Family – Adavale to name a few.

Tom Lyons' cattle were all offered this year, but wet weather caused the Lyons cattle to be cancelled as trucks could not negotiate the slippery black soil road into their yards. So at 7.00am on Sunday morning, I rang Noel Ledden to ask if his cattle were still available. He had offered prior to the commencement to be on standby with a good hard rocky driveway to his yards. "That’ll be right mate, I’ll go out now and run some in for you. How many do you need?” was his reply.  I was so grateful and relieved to be under control again.

How did they get to the event?

We had the majority of the cattle walked into the event from Quambone Station. They were then trucked from the saleyards on the western edge of town daily to the grounds to compete then home again.  Two B-Doubles were trucked direct from Ledden’s and Thompsons (Halcroft & Bennett) to the grounds and home.  Our generous freighter was JW Jackson & Sons of Coonamble. They donated trucks and drivers and time for approximately 20 loads of cattle. Not once over the 3 days was there a stern word spoken.  They were professional and a pleasure to work with. As has always been the case.  If anyone in Sydney ever needs anything brought out to this western area in tippers or livestock trucks they would be the obvious choice in my opinion!

What events were run during the Coonamble Campdraft and who were the winners?

The first event Saturday was the Maiden. A Trophy saddle, made by local saddler Kevin Rogan, and generously funded by Coonamble's “sister city” Campbelltown City Council was up for grabs for this event.  Vic Pennefather was victorious in the Maiden after the final.  He came across from the Quirindi/Willow Tree area to have a crack at the big boys and got the new saddle for his effort!

The Ralph Belamy Open was next.  An event restricted to Novice and Open horses only and named after a local Rodeo stalwart who passed away. His family donate a beautiful prize each year to the winner.  The current Lady Rider of the year for 2010, Lara Garlick (pictured above left), won this time and to prove it was not just a lucky run, she backed up on Monday to win her “pet” event, the Ladies draft, on the same horse.  Vixen is a lovely chestnut gelding, by Quarter Horse Docs Freckles Oak, who Lara has had in her team for a few years now and he more than pays his way - ensuring himself an extra dipper of feed every weekend!

Winner of the Junior was Warwick Southern, who may be only young but he and his parents rarely miss a Coonamble event.

Juveniles went to the daughter of one of the Coonamble committee, Mikaela Spinks (pictured left). Both Mikaela’s parents have been long standing workers on the committee and the family are very keen competitors.

On Sunday proceedings kicked off bright and early again, just a little after the sun poked through, with the Novice event - always one of the largest for numbers.

Almost local (Gilgandra) competitor, David Wilson, (from the famous Glenlee ASH Stud) was victorious this time with a massive total score after the final of 181 (91 and 90). This is a big score by any means.

With daylight weakening each afternoon quickly it was decided there was doubt that the Ladies event could be finished before darkness fell.  This unfortunately meant there would be a split in the competition and some would run in the afternoon and the rest would have to be out in the cold at daylight and run in the morning.  After the dust (or mud!) had settled on this event, as mentioned previously, Lara was again on top of the heap.  The Ladies can be just as tough to win as any event. - this is evident in the number of ladies who place and win amongst the men in other events.

Continuing on Monday after the girls had held centre stage for a while, was the Stumpy Timmins Open draft. This is an event that any horse can compete in and is also a sentimental event for many.  “Stumpy” was a local legend and the name is synonymous with the June long weekend for all rodeo and draft competitors in this region, as well as around many parts of the country.  Lachie Maxwell from Walgett took home the major prize this time and a bunch of four riders split Equal second. A photo finish in racing terms (winner and placegetters pictured below)

The Encouragement Draft was the last to run and 113 competitors took to the first round. After the final and all was done, Lindsay Laurie, emerged the winner. She received a new saddle from Hawkesbury River Saddlery.

How did the weather treat you for the weekend?

The weather was a little uncomfortable on Monday but the organizers were grateful as it looked like being very damp for much more than just Monday when we were studying the forecast in the lead up!

Shout out to helpers and sponsors?

Many people can and will be thanked over the coming days and weeks, we are very grateful to all our sponsors and businesses who donated financially and in-kind services.  Without them we would not be the event we are and Coonamble June Long Weekend would not be the social event eagerly attended by so many people! Thankyou Horsezone for your contribution this year and we look forward to a healthy relationship in the future years ahead as the event gets bigger and better.

What's in store for the future?

Plans are still progressing well for the new indoor Rodeo arena. The new campdraft yards are completed and with a little earth works left to finish things off, the 2012 draft looks exciting to say the least!

Thank you so much Jim for your time and we're sure everyone will be lined up to compete or simply soak up the Coonamble Campdraft atmosphere again in 2012!

Quick Links

• Full results from Coonamble Campdraft.
• Coonamble Campdraft Website.
• View campdraft horses for sale on Horsezone.