James Murphy
THE 41st annual Mount Gambier Easter Showjumping Carnival was deemed a great success.
Attracting a strong field, there was action aplenty in the two arenas across four days of equestrian prowess.
Mount Gambier Showjumping Club president David Johnson was pleased with the turnout and the quality of competition.
“It went very well,” he said.
“We had some good numbers and some very good jumping in both the main ring and the second arena.”
Johnson said the busiest day was the Saturday, where there was close to 260 rounds completed, while the lowest day was the Monday which still had just under 200 rounds.
Monday had two feature events contested, being the John Wilsher Memorial Blue Lake Stakes and the City of Mount Gambier Senior Grand Prix.
“If you look at the Grand Prix at 1.4 metres – there are not a lot of those horses around at the moment,” Johnson said.
“We had three in that and it was over and done with fairly quickly, but the standard of jumping in that was very high and we were really happy with that.
“James Harvey won that event.”
Johnson said the John Wilsher Memorial Blue Lake Stakes stood out as one of the premier events of the weekend.
“I could say it was probably the best class of the weekend,” he said.
“We had 22 competitors in that.
“We had eight go clear in the first round, which was really good.
“Of the eight in the second round, two went clear.
“The ones who finished three through to eighth places, they didn’t disgrace themselves at all , they jumped extremely well.”
Elissa Stephens won the event, but there was plenty of skill on show throughout the rounds.
From a local perspective, Kristy Bruhn had a good weekend.
She is always around the mark and managed to take out the wins in the Mount Gambier Rural Supplies 1.20 metre event and the Drew Gleeson Legal 1.30m One Round Stakes.
Fellow local Libby Halliday performed well on Arena 2, along with appearances on the main arena inside the Mount Gambier Cycling Club velodrome.
She had wins in 95cm and 85cm classes, while finished second to Don Scott in the 1.10 metre Special Two Phase event.
Young-gun Stacey Edwards also impressed, winning a range of events, including a couple of 75cm classes, along with a 65cm, 85cm and 95cm.
Meanwhile, Glencoe’s Shae Tweddle won the Boonaroo Angus 1.10-1.15 metre event.
“They competed very well,” Johnson said of the local equestrians.
Johnson gave thanks to all involved in the running and organising of the event, including the committee, sponsors and officials who helped make the Carnival another success.
“I would also like to thank the community for the help they provided over the weekend,” he said.
“It is a small committee, but to have everyone pitch in and help who weren’t from here, that was fantastic.”
Thanks was also given to the sporting clubs which lent their facilities for the annual event.
“We have to look at the South Gambier Football and Netball Club, Mount Gambier Cycling Club and the Mount Gambier Baseball League,” Johnson said.
“Collectively we were able to successfully showcase what joint user groups can do when they work together.”
After 41 years Johnson said the Easter Carnival showed no signs of slowing down and he looked forward to the 42nd edition and beyond.
