Shane Rose rides at Equestriad in Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park, which has been badly affected by floods
Floods are still affecting lives and eventing competitions in both New Zealand and Australia with cancellations at Horse of the Year NZ (including Oceania Championships) and Equestriad Australia in need of replacing jumps that floated away in 2022
The Land Rover Horse of the Year 2023, which was to run 7th - 12th of March 2023 in Hastings, New Zealand has now been cancelled following Cyclone Gabrielle
“We thank you all for your patience while we gave our region space to respond to the State of Emergency following Cyclone Gabrielle. Hawkes Bay and the wider community have been affected in so many ways, including lives, resources, and infrastructure” say the organisers
“We understand this will be a massive disappointment for many who have planned and/or qualified for their journey to LRHOY. We share the sadness that another cancellation brings, especially for those riders whose eligibility for classes will change before 2024”
The event was to host the Oceania Championships between Australia and New Zealand which will now be run instead in 2024 with dates and venue to be advised following discussions between Equestrian Sports New Zealand and Equestrian Australia High Performance
The Land Rover Horse of the Year will be back from 5th - 10th of March 2024.
In Australia, there are ongoing problems for events in areas badly affected by the floods of 2022
The popular Equestriad competitions held at Camden, near Sydney in NSW, were cancelled in 2022 and now the organising committee needs to replace over 50 cross-country fences that floated away or were destroyed along with most of the show jumping equipment during the flooding at the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park
“The cost of replacing all of these things will cost the club in excess of $100,000” say Equestriad organisers
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help with the costs of replacing the equipment and you can donate here https://gofund.me/07029bfc
