Candlebark Horse Trials 2009 – a rushed review by A. Bright

The Riddells Creek Pony Club have run this event at EFA level since 2005 and have a well oiled machine of organisers running there with few hitches over the weekend.

The two star was an action packed weekend with lots of interesting happenings but few riders. In a comedy of typos and errors, the two star riders had all learnt one test and the judges another. Fortunately, the TD stepped in and convinced the judges to re-learn the test that the riders had all learnt and an hour later we were under way again.

That there were only 5 riders who set out on the two star cross country course was a pity as Candlebark provides one of the more challenging two star courses. This year, follow a good winter, the ground was quite good, even in the sheep paddock, and round the main paddock, the ground was soft enough to be kind to horses, but not so soft as to need studs. This year the course had a number of clever options that ensured that riders could get around, albeit with time penalties. Fences in the main paddock were all well dressed and inviting.

With the only clear round that of Jayne Hanson and her big grey, Brookfield Sabre, the show jumping was a well built formality. Jayne went in so many points ahead that she could have had almost every fence down and still won! As it was, she jumped clear to finish 50 points ahead of the next combination.

In the one star, Edith Kane slipped out of first place with an annoying stop while Melissa Wilson and the big chestnut CP Gulliver jumped quickly and clear to win the impressive first prize.

The junior one star was a close fought battle between two of our up and coming young riders in Ellen Trigger and Andrew Hesseltine with less than a point between them, Ellen leading all the way on Liberty Hall and Andrew placing 2 nd and 3 rd .

The pre novice classes saw more time, eliminations and refusals cross country but Sarah Hall went on her winning way in one class and Stephanie Wake saluted the judges in the other class.

The preliminary and introductory classes were full and saw enough refusals to make the contest interesting, but no accidents to speak of, Anne Blurton, Ellen Sherwood and Tiffany Henwood were the winners of the prelim classes although a mention must be made of poor Ross Leeson who seemed to have it all sewn up. Leading into the cross country, Ross jumped a stylish and clear round only to find that his lines were too tight and his approaches too smooth and that he was a minute under time, attracting penalties. Neva Brunning, Audrey Wall and Naomi White took the honours in the intro classes, although the writer did not get time to see any of these in order to be able to comment upon them.

Well done and thank you to the team at Riddells Creek Pony Club for an excellent event.

Tori Mitton and Mister Monty through the water jump

Lincoln Spiers was one of many to walk home

Volunteers at the water jump all day!

Great to see Lisa Portman back competing after the fires

Last Updated: 12/10/2009

Description : Candlebark Horse Trials is one of our best organised events with things usually running very smoothly. In the heart of a very horsey area, Riddells Creek Pony Club has limited area for a cross country course but manage to provide a well dressed and interesting course for all levels. The ground can be hard but that depends on the year.

Steered by Kevin Watson, it continues to provide Victoria with a challenging event from intro to 2 star.

Getting there : From Melbourne, head towards Lancefield / Romsey. Turn left at Sutherlands Rd which is 4km before the Monegeeta General store. Riddells Creek Pony Club is about 3 km along here on the left hand side.

If coming via the township of Riddells Creek, Sutherlands Rd is the first, immediate, left off Station st.

Facilities : Camping at Candlebark is allowed and there are always a lot who do so. Competitors and supporters are well fed all weekend with a canteen and Saturday night dinner. There are permanent and portable toilets and showers.

There are yards available and you can set up your own yards behind these although the closer to the yards you are, the less distance you have to walk for water.

The showjumping and dressage areas are very good and close to the camping/parking areas. Much of the cross country is visible from the 'mound' near the start and the the finish is near to the start, making it ideal for supporters who want to see their riders off, watch most of the course and then greet them at the finish line!

Tips : There is not a lot of shade and those there early in the morning get the best spots. The cross country paddock is filled with jumps so navigation can be challenging for some.

Courses

Intro:

Prelim:

Pre-Novice:

One Star:

Two Star: (Adrian Bright 2009) The first half of the course is in the sheep paddock where few spectators go but is mostly comprised of solid inviting fences with one set of 3 tall, narrow arrowheads on a 3 stride curved line, although they are numbered separately. The second half of the course has a challenging pair of apexes (with option) on a 2 stride curved line, a decent drop into the water, a bounce and a couple of angled rails down a slope. Time is difficult to make and the course is considered one of the more challenging in Victoria, a good preparation for Adelaide.

Warm up areas: The warm up area for the dressage is excellent with plenty of room and it is usually well marshalled.

The show jumping warm up is large with 3 fences and on the same surface as the competition course.

The cross country warm up is in the same paddock with show jump fences and a log to warm up over, although this area is limited to 4 horses. For the rest of the time, you must warm up in an area 100 metres away which has some show jumps.

Helping: Those camping are asked to put all their manure in a bag.