Sadly we don’t get to as many events in South Australia as we would like to but we love hearing about them (after all, SA hosts the pinnacle of eventing in Australia with the only 4* in the southern hemisphere!) Next year Naracoorte will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary and, with it, the return of International (CIC) eventing. We’re looking forward to helping them celebrate in 2014 – especially now we have heard about not just one, but two new bars! In the meantime however, there is plenty happening leading up to this year’s event (May 18th and 19th) and Melissa Richardson has sent us an update
“What a busy year it has been already with all the work at Naracoorte Horse Trials
First we are pleased to advise that the FEI have made us a targeted event for 2013 so performances at Naracoorte can be used as qualifications for FEI level events, including the Melbourne 3 Day Event (entries close for the M3DE the Monday following Naracoorte HT). So if you are looking for a final confidence building run on flat slightly sandy going we really look forward to seeing you!
It is with great pleasure that we welcome aboard a number of new supporters for 2013. These include Tuffrock, Chaballo, Equine Health Science, Direct2Door Fodder, Kentucky Equine Research and Horseland Mt Gambier. We would also very much like to thank IRT and Mini Jumbuk for their continued support of this wonderful event.
Not only do we have new and continued support but we have also completed a number of new cross country fences for all classes.
The three CNC classes – 1*, 2* and 3* – have completely new tracks, with a number of new approaches and directions compared to those in recent years.
Stuart's Lake is having a complete makeover - the entry and exits have been redone, the old footbridge removed and the entire water complex made bigger
Our biggest project has been the redevelopment of the Lake Stuart water complex – recently the lake has looked a little “tired”. We are so excited to present a reshaped and enlarged complex to provide all classes with either encouragement or a challenge!
This has meant an enormous amount of work led by Wayne Copping and Hugh Foletta (below) and more than twenty new fences have already been completed.
The three lower classes – Introductory, Preliminary and Pre-Novice – have also had considerable attention with the inclusion of new fences and the renovation of existing jumps to provide a fresh and fun experience for inexperienced horses and/or riders.
With rigorous work already completed on the general tidy up across the whole cross country area we are confident that the presentation of the 2013 event will be well up to standard when compared to other local and interstate events.
It is also very pleasing to see a number of entries already being made through Nominate and hope to see many more
Whilst the focus has been on our cross country course we have also been looking at all aspects of our event and as part of our catering facilities we will be including a Bar at both venues.
With all our improvements and projects on track – even the weather down here is being considerate – we are looking forward to this year’s event with much anticipation and excitement. We can’t wait to see you all here.”
To stay in touch with developments at Naracoorte, visit their Facebook page
