GVRHA 'Ride & Slide to EQUTIANA' Show 2014: Report & Photos

By: Michelle McDonald/GVRHA

Lyndon Hale & Op Whizzel Do (Photo: Holly Byrne Barbed Wire Imagery) VIEW MORE PHOTOS IN THE GALLERY HERE

November 14-16 saw reiners from all over Victoria flock to Tatura Park for the Goulburn Valley Reining Horse Association’s “Ride & Slide to Equitana” show. 

This was the club’s final show for the 2014 reining season and what a show it was – with a great turnout of almost fifty horses entered throughout the weekend and a Saturday night program featuring some of the best Open and Non Pro riders the state has to offer and an entertaining Freestyle class to keep the crowd entertained well into the evening!

Friday afternoon and into the evening, riders had access to ‘open pen’ and individual warm up times in the show arena, to prepare their horses for the weekend ahead.  With horses and riders well prepared, the show kicked off at 8:00am Saturday morning with the Ladies class – a great class to get the show up and running, with judge Shane Watts (NSW) and scribe Brian Scarce (VIC) overseeing 17 runs in this first class of the show! 

The day continued with good attendance in the classes that followed – Limited & Intermediate Non Pro, GVRHA Green Rider, Youth and with the Limited and Intermediate Open class finishing the daytime events.  Following a good dinner break, the club’s high point awards for the season were presented, with winners taking home beautiful ‘Black Range Silhouettes’ metal art plaques and ‘Showtime Awards’ buckles Sponsored by Affordable Tack & Horse Wear.  End of year highpoints are awarded to members who accumulated points for their efforts during the year, and runners up were presented with certificates.  Following the awards presentation, and after a spot of arena maintenance the pen was ready for the Saturday night feature to begin.  Judge Lisa Lawson (NSW) joined Shane in judging this prestigious event, with a total of $6,000 added prize money on offer. 

Twenty entries spun and slid their way through their runs, impressing the crowd with the agility of their reining horses, performing large fast circles, small slow circles, spinning on a dime in the centre of the arena, executing flying lead changes and completing their runs with the hallmark of reining, the famous sliding stops.  Victorian trainer Kate Elliott riding ‘Dunrufnit’ owned by Peggy & Peter Salmon, fresh from their recent success in the futurity at the Nationals in Tamworth, slid their way to victory with a score of 142 in the Open division proudly sponsored by major sponsors Equissage Victoria and Ken Muston Isuzu Ute Shepparton. Reserve Champions Brett McDonald and his lovely mare ‘Badgers Lil Gem’ and Kim Grosso on her beautiful stallion ‘DC Caddilac Jack’ followed in joint second place, both receiving scores of 139.  Competitors in the Open division were competing for a jackpot plus $4,000 added prize money!

Champion in the Non Pro division, generously sponsored by major sponsors Domain Property Advocates and BI Excavations, was taken out by Kim Grosso and Dry Creek Quarter Horses’ ‘DC Caddilac Jack’ on a score of 139, wrapping up a very successful season for the duo, with Keiran Moses running a score of 137.5 on ‘Pain In The Glass’ to take Reserve Champion and a cut of the total prize money of jackpot plus $2,000!  Both Open and Non Pro riders were also rewarded with an array of beautiful prizes donated by our valued sponsors including trophy buckles, champion jackets and rugs provided by GVRHA, metal art supplied by Black Range Silhouettes and garlands from Big River Ranch.

The entertainment continued Saturday night after the Open and Non Pro feature class had been run and won, with the Freestyle event providing the crowd with a slightly different take on reining, with three riders choreographing routines to music and themes chosen by themselves, with points being awarded for the quality of the manoeuvres, plus the creativity of the routines.  Sara Agnew and ‘Lethal Hollywood’ took out first prize with their 60’s themed costume and routine to the song ‘Love Shack’ with a score of 137.5 with Rita Mezo and ‘Jessies Cutter Beau’ close on their heels with a 137 for their Australian Military themed routine, complete with Australian flag!  Susie Farquhar and ‘CD Quixote’ also impressed the crowd riding bareback to Pink to finish in third place.  Overall, it was a great evening of entertainment and great riding, finishing up at close to 11pm.

Sunday saw the show continue, starting at 9am, with the final classes of the weekend – Novice Horse Open and Non Pro, Rookie and perhaps the favourite class of the show – the Littlies GVRHA Leadline.  Brett & Michelle McDonald’s daughter, Ellie, and her pony ‘Chloe’ and Mitchell Brown, son of Gary Browne and Annette Miller on Nola Pryor’s horse ‘Drag His Freckle’ both showed their horses beautifully with the help of their handlers to a joint victory, each receiving Black Range Silhouettes medallions for their spectacular efforts!

Overall the show was a great success with competitors receiving wonderful  prizes donated from the GVRHA sponsor group, the show was a fantastic opportunity for many of the reiners competing at the prestigious Equitana Open Reining the following week, to hone their skills in the show pen and get some last minute preparation in before the big event.  GVRHA would like to thank all their valued sponsors including major event sponsors Equissage Victoria, Ken Muston Isuzu Ute Shepparton, Domain Property Advocates Victoria, Australian Horseman Magazine and BI Excavations Tatura for their valued support of GVRHA ‘Ride & Slide’ to Equitana Reining show 2014.  

The team at Horsezone was proud to be a sponsor of this great event!

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