An Eventful Life is filming all competitors on cross country at
Hanson Tonimbuk International Horse trials 2022 - order or view videos here
While we spare a thought for the many communities, equestrian or otherwise, that are battling unprecedented deluges of rain and flooding in NSW and Queensland, the sun is currently shining in Victoria where the Hanson Tonimbuk International Horse Trials is set to run their annual event
Located an hour from Melbourne, this area has so far escaped the rain systems but may not be so lucky on the weekend, with a forecast of 20 – 35mm of rain on Saturday and 3 – 7 mm on Sunday.
Luckily, the area has been relatively dry in the lead-up to the event so hopefully the rain will be a nuisance rather than a game changer, but we’ll catch up with cross country course designer Ewan Kellett at the event on Saturday and see how the rain is affecting the course, if at all. Poor Ewan must feel that he is being chased around the country by the weather-demons, having left Tamborine in Queensland last week where their CCN ODE was cancelled due to the massive rainfall
Tonimbuk competitors may be needing their wet weather gear on Saturday and Sunday (but, hey, this is an outdoor sport!) when most of the action takes place but a small group of riders in some EvA80 and EvA95 sections will have the opposite conditions – hot and sunny - on Friday afternoon for their dressage when the event kicks off
The event is running their normal range of classes with National classes from EvA80 to CCN1* and FEI classes from CCI2* to CCI4*.
In this unusual year where international eventing in Australia started early with the Zeep EA Summer Horse Trials in early February to make up for lost time (and lost qualifications) during Covid restrictions in 2021, Tonimbuk doesn’t have its usual honour of being first cab off the ranks on the Australian International eventing calendar. But it does have many of the usual contenders in the CCI4* field of 12 combinations
South Australia’s Olympic medallist Megan Jones has already started the season strongly with a CCI4* win on RLE Barina at the Zeep EA Horse Trials and is the defending champion here. Megan is going to be busy at Tonimbuk with three horses – Guhr, RLE Barina and Toulando - in the VRW Civil CCI4* but last year’s runners-up, local rider Sam Jeffree and Woodmount Lolita, will be out to go one better this year
The 17 competitors in the Horseland CCI3* will be among the first to head down the centreline on Saturday and, like the CCI4* competitors, will show jump on the same day in the late afternoon/evening in the floodlit indoor arena, which may be a blessing in view of the forecast
The very well subscribed Charlie’s Stockfeed CCI2* and the two sections of CCN1*, sponsored by KER and Barastoc, both do their dressage on Saturday and show jump on Sunday. All riders at both National and International level will head out on cross country on Sunday
We’ll be at Tonimbuk bringing you quick daily updates on the website, plus our full subscriber-only special content, whatever the weather!
Don't forget to stay tuned to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for video snippets and more during the event too ...
Sam Jeffree and Woodmount Lolita, CCI4* leaders after the dressage in 2021
