Equestrian Australia has announced the first of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees and it is a very special one.
This year's Hall of Fame inductee in the Horse category is Sunburst, the event horse which won gold for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with his owner and rider, Wendy Schaeffer
Readers of the book An Eventful Life – Life Stories of Eventing Champions will be familiar with the story of the pony club horse that went on to win gold. Purchased as a five year old from a local racehorse trainer for $600, Sunburst (known at home as Tommy) and Wendy were competing at Pony Club Level 1 events by the time Wendy was 12 years old. Together they made their appearance at Advanced (3*) level in 1992, winning their first event at that level and went on to win the CCI 3* at Gawler later the same year. Many achievements followed culminating in Wendy and Sunburst winning team gold at Atlanta, despite Wendy having broken her leg only weeks before.
In the book An Eventful Life Wendy says
“I just loved the whole Atlanta experience. The strength of the relationship I had with Sunburst was really tested because of the unorthodox preparation we had. But I trusted him and he trusted me and we just got on with the job and enjoyed every moment”
Sunburst’s death in a freak paddock accident in 1997, just a year after winning the gold medal, was a huge loss for Wendy and Australian eventing. He was a very special horse and in these old videos from Atlanta you can see why. The quality of the videos may not be great but the quality and partnership of horse and rider shines through
Sunburst will be inducted into the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame at a gala ceremony on Tuesday 30 April at Le Montage in Sydney. All members of the equestrian community are invited to join in the celebration to honour the legends of our sport. Ticket information is available HERE
