Northside Riding Club goes on a Road Trip!

Determined not to disappoint riders after wet weather caused the cancellation of a number of events across Sydney the Northside Riding Club show jumping team made the decision to take the August Mitavite Show Jumping Competition on a road trip to the Sydney International Equestrian Centre.

Despite a week of sun Northside's home ground, the Princess Anne Arena, was still too wet to ride on. Show Jumping phase heads Rosemary Allen and Ebony Bryant were reluctant to call off the competition for the second month in a row. Club president Jane Robinson contacted SIEC, the Sydney Olympic Venue and made enquiries about hiring one of their arenas as an alternative venue. The super efficient team rearranged plans and informed all competitors in record time. Global Entries Online is a useful communication tool for organisers in this situation, allowing emails and text messages to be sent with little fuss.

Riders were very thankful for the opportunity to take their horses to SIEC with many of them conscious of the need to continue with their training schedules in order to prepare their horses for big events such as the upcoming Sydney Three Day. Course Designer Mark Atkins adjusted his tracks slightly to cater for a wider range of riders in the one ring available instead of the normal two rings run on the Princess Anne Arena.

Riley Mackillop began another successful day for the Mackillops with a win in the 80cm class on Handy High Ambitions. 'Amber' suffered a freak accident earlier in the year crashing through a glass door on the family property in Duffys Forest and cutting her face badly. Her recovery has been amazing and she is now back out jumping again with her young rider. Taylor Hawes was second on Decree and organiser Rosemary Allen was third with a fast time on Annie.

Riley continued his successful day with a win on the super little pony Amanda Laura Bell in the 90cm class. Riley and Amber were second in this class. Jane Robinson made a great attempt to chase down Riley's times on her super little mare Rain, but they weren't quite up to speed finishing in third place. Shannon O'Meara made a successful comeback from a nasty broken leg, with a fourth place on Jayne Dwight's Startrak.

Riley's big sister Stephanie was victorious in the 105cm Official class on the super little jumping pony Alcheringa Tradition. Oakville team member Anoushka de Silva and HDH Brandysnap was second and Martin Gostelow from the Gostelow Equestrian Team was third. Emma Fellows and Bourbon Jewel won the Unofficial 105cm class. Mark Atkins was second with Yandoo Barnaby and Eventer Hamish Cargill was third with Sandhills Tiger.

Steph Mackillop completed the Mackillop's clean sweep with a win on Calvin Clyde in the 115cm class. The Mckillop horses will be eating well for the next few weeks with the family taking home four bags of Xtra Cool from show jumping sponsors Mitavite. Mark Atkins and Yandoo Barnaby were second and Martin Gostelow and Carassino were third.

Rosemary Allen was thrilled at how well the competition went and is keen to build road trips to SIEC into the NRC jumping calendar more often. The next NRC SJ competition is scheduled for 12 September to be held at the Princess Anne Arena, St Ives Showground.


Rachel Smith
Secretary & PR/Marketing
Northside Riding Club
[URL="http://www.northsideridingclub.com.au"]www.northsideridingclub.com.au[/URL]