Warwick Horse Trials Club hosts epic three-day event at Warwick’s Morgan Park

Warwick’s first-class equestrian facility will host its biggest event of the year this weekend, as competitors and spectators travel from all over the country for the huge three-day event.

Warwick’s first-class equestrian facility at Morgan will this weekend be home to an epic three-day event, with spectators and competitors travelling from around Australia for a piece of the action.

Warwick Horse Trials Club president Tracey Sexton said executing the event was a huge task, and the burden was lessened through a recent $10,000 grant from the Australian Sports Commission.

Warwick Horse Trials president Tracey Sexton unveils the President's Board at the clubhouse (Picture: Gerard Walsh)

“The funding relieves a lot of the pressure, as we need to fly out and accommodate officials from Melbourne and Sydney for the three-day weekend,” she said.

“In events like this there’s always going to be significant costs involved. In eventing we have certain rules brought in for both the horse and rider safety through both the Equestrian Queensland and International eventing rules.”

Sexton said it was imperative to meet the standard and ensure a safe event for everyone, with emergency personnel on standby at all times.

“The majority of our funding is going towards looking after our officials and accommodating them and that’s crucial,” she said.

“I’m not saying the event wouldn’t have run, but it certainly gives you a bit of breathing space to know we have that funding there to get the officials we need.

“This is the biggest event for us this year. A lot of people will be in their happy place this weekend and that’s facilitated by funding and all the hard work involved.”

Warwick Horse Trials Club announcer Cameron Osborne balances his medical profession with his love of race announcing (Picture: Nicole Zurcas)

Allora horse breeder and event volunteer Cameron Osborne said the international events were complex and had to follow certain protocols.

“The level of competition is higher than our local events,” he said.

“We’ve got a technical director who controls the event, group of judges, the ground jury and FEI qualified veterinarians which are all required for an international event of this size.

“There are only two competitions of this level in Queensland, so it’s a big deal.”

The Sustainable and Warwick Horse Trials FEI 3-day event is open to spectators on Saturday and Sunday from 8am until 4pm at Morgan Park. Entry for spectators is free.