Jindivick Timber’s sponsorship involvement with the Melbourne 3DE began in 2007. Chris and Louise Curran, owners of Jindivick Timber, had been introduced to the sport when daughter Amelia began her riding at Dave Middleton’s training centre in Warragul, Victoria in 2003. They all loved the excitement and enthusiasm of eventing and they started to follow Dave’s fortunes and those of Janelle Pitts, who was also teaching Amelia, at competitions. As the eventing world knows, once the eventing bug has bitten there is nothing quite like it for the sheer range and intensity of emotions.
M3DE course designer, Ewan Kellett (R) with Mike Etherington-Smith at Werribee
In 2006 Jindivick Timber was involved with experienced course builder Craig Gordon in providing logs for some private cross country courses he was building on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Craig was also involved in building the Melbourne 3 Day Event courses at that time and introduced them to Ewan Kellett, who is now the course designer at Melbourne and several other major events around Australia.
“These two clever gentlemen subtly convinced us that, given the funding constraints that course builders constantly work under, donating a few logs from our FSC certified Private Native Forest to the Melbourne 3 Day Event course would be great for the sport and the event and would help them to build the top quality jumps that this International level event deserves” says Chris
“It was a great initiative on their behalf and we have been donating a truck full of logs each year since”
Each year Ewan works out what he wants to build and then gives Chris a wish list of log lengths and diameters. Jindivick Timber then has a look at what the forest has to offer them at that time and try to match his list. This can range from some bigger logs, 600mm diameter and 5 meters long, to some smaller logs, 250mm diameter and 4 meters long. The finish can vary - sometimes Ewan request that the bark is left on for effect and other times, as in logs used for the water jumps, that the bark be removed to provide the traditional smooth logs. These large logs form the rails and the supports for many of the cross country jumps.
Many people will remember the three large oxers which have been the second jump on course, out on the polo field, for the last three years. These jumps all use Silvertop Ash logs with the bark still on, as per the photo above, with the log sizes increasing as the jumps get bigger for the higher classes. Or the very large logs used in the bounce into the first water complex in 2011; these were Mountain Ash logs which had had the bark removed.
“Ewan jokes with us now that at least 50% of the jumps on the course have a bit of Jindivick in them in one form or another” says Chris
So where is Jindivick – the home of these great trees and the Curran family? Maybe better known for its delicious soft cheeses, Jindivick is a small rural community about 100km east of Melbourne in West Gippsland. Chris and Louise have owned a native regrowth forest property there for about 20 years, originally just as a place to get away from the crazy corporate and city life that both of them were living at the time. By 2000 they were spending more time at Jindivick than in Melbourne and then decided that the best place to raise their children would be in the more balanced and connected rural environment.
The property now consists of 620 acres of native regrowth forest and 20 acres home, including the essential horse paddocks, gardens and associated facilities. There is a history of timber here as the property was first logged in the early 1900s and has traditionally been used for timber harvesting to supply local sawmilling operations.
“With a diverse range of timber types such as Silvertop Ash, Messmate, Mountain Grey Gum, Mountain Ash, Blackwood and other Acacia species, the property is ideally suited to the sustainable harvesting and value adding practices which have now been implemented under an overriding Land Management Plan and our comprehensive FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification” explains Chris, with obvious pride in his company’s environmental and sustainability policies
“Jindivick Timber harvests, mills and dries the timber, all of which comes from our own forest, and supplies it only to major wholesale/retail timber suppliers who recognise and promote responsible forestry via their own FSC certification and demonstrated commitment to sustainability. These include EcoTimber in Victoria and The Woodage in NSW”
There is still plenty of room left on the property for horses however; both Louise and Amelia were involved in eventing some years ago but they gradually discovered a love of dressage and changed disciplines. Dressage is now Lou’s passion and she currently competes at Prix St George/Inter 1 level on Roddick, her up and coming warmblood (above). And there is another love in her life recently, Gandalf, who she is bringing back after a spell and hopes to compete with later in the year. Amelia still rides for pleasure but her VCE studies have curtailed the competitive side of riding for a couple of years now.
So when you look at (or jump over) the cross country fences at Melbourne International 3 Day Event this year, raise a glass to Jindivick Timber (tricky if you’re actually jumping over!) for their sponsorship and support. They’ll certainly be there, watching the cross country action and enjoying being part, yet again, of this great event
