Andrew enjoyed a winning time at Berrima
Coming from a show jumping background and now having ridden at quite a few events Andrew Barnett has changed his mind about the type of horse needed for eventing.
“I used to think that if a horse wouldn’t make a top class show jumper I could always sell him as an eventer – but I don’t think that any more. Eventers have to be seriously good jumpers!”
Andrew’s partner, Tarsha Hammond, is to ‘blame’ for Andrew’s turn towards eventing because when Tarsha became pregnant (the couple now have a little boy Henry) it meant she wouldn’t be able to ride her event horses for a while. But when the owners of those horses said they were happy for Andrew to ride them the eventing bug raised it’s head and he hasn’t really looked back. In fact he has big ambitions to event at top level and is determined to work hard on his dressage with lots of help from Tarsha.
We caught up with Andrew at Berrima Horse Trials where he had just collected his prizes for winning the Highland Drilling EvA95 B riding Bravitude and the Horsewerks EvA80 riding Bradgate Park Dante.
CLICK HERE to hear what Andrew had to say about making the transition from show jumper to eventer (although he has no plans to give up his show jumping career just yet!)
Please excuse the background noise ... I knew Vince (Roche) was loud I just didn't appreciate how loud!
Tarsha Hammond (pictured here with baby Henry at Wallaby Hill) is probably best known for her performances with ‘Fuzzy Logic’. The pair represented Australia at the Trans Tasman in 2003 and were short listed for the Sydney Olympics (2000) and the World Equestrian Games in 2002. Tarsha’s skills not only over fences but also on the flat are very much sought after and she can often be found coaching Australia’s elite riders at National Squad clinics.
Henry decides that sleeping at en event is the way to go!
