Owner riders back to compete in Barastoc Horse of the Year event

Contenders returned to the event that was halted abruptly with the snap lockdown to compete in the classes.

COMPETITORS must have had feelings of deja vu as they drove through the gates of Werribee Park last weekend for the Barastoc Horse of the Year classes.

They had done the same last week, only to have competition stopped when the Victorian Government called a lockdown and everyone went home.

But “showies” are resilient and they all turned up to try again, even if the interstate judges of last week could not return and this time they competed under a local panel.

With the number of show animals currently in the hands of professional trainers, it was good to see classes especially created for Owner Riders, where the person who owns and trains the horse, is the one who rides it in competition.

These people usually have to fit their training and competition around a full-time job and the Owner Riders classes gets them a level playing field.

Winners in this section included Charlee Latham’s Merivale Park Georgio, Britt Holmburg’s Ascot Anne Maria, Alisha Heinrich’s Koora Lyn Marley, Laura-Jane Shaw’s Gordon Park Backstreet Boy, Jamie MacPherson’s Da Vinci and Natalie Mc Kay’s St Andrews.

Racing Victoria continues to strongly support the Off The Track (OTT) Classes for ex-race horses, with Mark Kenzig winning the show hunter section with JD Kiamicha that raced as Tarantino. Rebecca Farrow, who also took out the Senior Rider class, won the Off The Track show hack with Stage Presence that raced as Persistency and Madelaine Tabak rode the OTT Newcomer class with Mt Florence that raced as Die Another Day.

The show pony section winners were Burnewang English Rose, ridden by Rosemary Sutherland, Malibu Park Tip Top, Tahlia Young and Braeburn Park Spring Dance, ridden by Annabelle Richardson.

Greg Mickem rode Emily Murray’s Royal Highness to win the small show hack and Elizabeth Krog’s Warrawee Impresario took out the big show hack class.

While a good time was had by all, it’s back to the paddock for most of the horses. Usually, they would be starting a solid three months of shows week by week, but almost all in Victoria have been cancelled, and only the Grand National and Sydney Royal show in NSW offer any hope.

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