The Ellerston Scone Horse Trials - order or view XC Videos here
It’s a week of firsts for An Eventful Life with our first visit to Larkhill Horse Trials in the UK and the inaugural Ellerston Scone Horse Trials in Australia.
Ellerston is renowned in the polo world. A boutique polo venue built by Kerry Packer in the heart of the Hunter Valley in NSW, polo is still at the core of the venue but this weekend it will also host the very first Ellerston Scone Horse Trials on 6th and 7th April 2024.
It has been a long time in the making but no doubt it will be worth the wait. The entry list is small with just four main classes from CCN1* to CCN4* plus a CCN4.5* and 5* Combined Training, perfect for those such as Cathryn Herbert, Olivia Barton, Gordon Bishop and Olympic medallist Megan Jones who are all Adelaide-bound.
Scone is known as the ‘horse capital of Australia’ thanks to the dozens of stud farms in the area and, while Ellerston may be famous for its polo, the area is also famous for its thoroughbreds.
Fittingly, the classes are sponsored by some big names in racing with Annabel Neasham Racing (a lady who not only trains Group 1 winners but also has evented herself and won the Mongol Derby), Yulong, Godolphin, Waterhouse & Bott Racing, Magic Millions (well known to eventers in the UK as sponsor of the sadly now no longer Festival of British Eventing) and Michael Freedman Racing are among the sponsors.
The chosen charity for the event is also Racing Hearts, a registered charity offering Equine Assisted Psychology, Counselling and Social Skills programs, working almost exclusively with retired off the track racehorses to help deliver their services.
The Ellerston Clubhouse will be the focal point of the event for socialising (and wifi!). On Saturday night the restaurant will be open, live music by Lucy Beveridge and final bids will be taken by auctioneer Maddy Teague for the fabulous items that have been announced on Facebook over the past week (you can check them all out on the Scone Horse Trials Facebook page here).
We’ll be bringing you full updates at the end of each day on the website and can’t wait to check out this fabulous venue where we’re filming all competitors on the Stuart Tinney designed courses! Stay tuned ……
