The Christchurch Western Riding Association had their New Year show (held in conjunction with the American Quarter Horse Association – New Zealand) at the Mandeville Sports Ground in Canterbury over three days, concluding on Sunday.
The featured events included an open reining class, the quarter horse trail class and the adventure trail. There were also led classes and horsemanship classes and even classes for under-six-year-old riders!
For some people, this was the last show after more than three weeks on the road, as they returned from competing in the North Island. Most camped on the CWRA grounds, and appeared to have had a great weekend of fun!
It was good to see so many families competing there together, and while we only caught a small part of the show, we saw some lovely horses and some good workouts in the Ranch Riding classes where riders had to do a standard pattern, which included a rein-back.
The National show is the next big event on the western calendar. It is held on 21 February through to Saturday 25 February 2018 in Hawera.
We also met up with two members of the just-announced New Zealand team who are heading off to the American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup in Texas in June 2018: Sally McPherson and Amanda Voice – both were competing at the show.
The rest of the riding team is Hollie Bruce, Terri-Anne Irvine, and Olivia Pearson. Reserve is Adam Carlisle and the leadership team is Emma Downs, Ella McNiece and Imogen Perrett. Vicky Evans is the coach and Jan Robinson is the manager. The riders won’t be taking their horses, but will get the opportunity to participate in equestrian clinics, leadership seminars and first class competition.
We have another article to come on this team soon, but in the meantime, we hope you enjoy our gallery. Images can be purchased from Pegasus Communications website.
