Prince Philip honoured in carriage driving competition
Colourful course: Dawn Walter from Cobram, with Naringalook Monty, in the marathon section. Photo: Linda Mace
A large number of entries were received for the inaugural Battle of the Border carriage driving event held at Mullengandra (near Albury) on December 10, 11 and 12.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The event was held on Ross Carbery and Miriam Bentley’s property, and organisers said competitors were delighted with the attention to detail and European-style competition.
Twelve months of planning by the organising committee from the Border Carriage Club resulted in an impressive event for the carriage driving fraternity.
Teamwork: Jenny Demaio from Cobram, with Moondale Onyx, in the marathon section. Photo: Linda Mace
Organising committee members — Ross Carbery, Miriam Bentley and Paul and Lorraine Cairns — have all travelled overseas to carriage driving events and had worked hard to present this event along the lines of the European style.
Many competitors commented they felt like they were competing on the international stage.
Eager: Vicki Stevenson and Tim Tam, from Naring, competing in the cones section. Photo: Linda Mace
Event director Lorraine Cairns said entries were received from Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia.
In initial planning, judges and officials were also sourced from all over the country but COVID-19 border restrictions changed the plans.
Ms Cairns said the dressage was conducted in a magnificent arena surrounded by white fences and displaying the state flags of all those competing.
She said the cones course was challenging but encouraged all drivers to think very carefully about their chosen routes, and was well up to standard for this type of event.
The obstacles in the marathon phase were almost all grouped together for ease of inspection and made for a great viewing point for the many spectators who came along, Ms Cairns said. Many of the obstacles had been decorated in themes, with a Candy Land obstacle, a Circus, a Christmas Tree and a Royal Windsor obstacle.
The Royal Windsor obstacle paid tribute to the memory of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died earlier this year.
Prince Philip was the patron of the Australian Carriage Driving Society and was instrumental in devising the rules and guidelines for the sport as it is conducted today.
A special memorial perpetual trophy in honour of Prince Philip was awarded for the best performed horse and driver in the open and intermediate classes.
Permission was granted by Buckingham Palace to award the trophy in Prince Philip's name.
The first winner of this trophy was Michelle Jones from Clonbinane. She was particularly proud to win the trophy as her own horse, Lucy, was bred by the owners of the property.
Proud winner: Michelle Jones, from Clonbinane, was the inaugural winner of the Prince Philip memorial trophy.
Her father, Mike Thill, also had a long association with Prince Philip after working with him in the United Kingdom.
Other local winners included Jenny Demaio and Dawn Walter from Cobram, Vicki Stevenson from Naring, Yvonne Brown from the Avenel area and Rachel Haslau from Longwood.
Plans are already being made for the 2022 Battle of the Border, which will again be held in December.
For anyone interested in taking up the sport of carriage driving, the Border Carriage Club is planning a ‘come and try’ day in 2022.
34°C