Blog Hop - Favourite Event
I thought I'd jump on this cool blog hop because it's something I've been thinking about recently!
We are so lucky here to have a strong eventing community. It's quite amazing really and numbers keep growing. Often at the big events we will have 300 competitors across all the grades. Most people are down in the 65-95 levels, with only a handful competing up to 4* (and we have a few riders who are at 5*, but no 5* events).
We have a wide range of events from those in Perth, to some about 2 hours away. The most I have to drive is just over 2 hours, it makes it so easy to do this wonderful sport! Because we have so many great events, it makes it hard to pick just one. There is lots to consider, the XC course, warm up areas, camping facilities, general company, the standard of the event. I'm not fussed on prizes, since we rarely finish in the top 10 instead the atmosphere and how the competition runs as a whole is more important to me.
Out of the 14 or so Equestrian Australia events that run in WA (Pony Club also run events, and some of those are awesome too, but since I primarily compete EA I'll stick with those), I have a few events that I really love. They run well, they have a great XC course and we always seem to have a good time.
Wooroloo is one of the biggest events we have in WA, and since it's close to home it's not a camping event. The event runs so smoothly, everything is on time and the XC course is incredible. it's challenging, with some pretty decent hills and it can be really slippery. The SJ arena has good footing and plenty of space to warm up. The dressage though is tight. The warm up is on the cross country course, and all the arenas are on a slope. Thats fine for us, since our paddock at home it on a slope but the warm up causes issues!
Moora again has a tight dressage warm up. We always get a terrible score there because coolie does not like it. The SJ arena is beautiful though the warm up is tight and boggy. The XC course though? it's amazing. I love running XC there. Its open, with a bit of a slope making it perfect for galloping. The course is fun and challenging enough to keep you on your toes. The camping facilities are good, and it always runs very smoothly. Plus it's always on my birthday weekend.
Dryandra is held in the wheatbelt in the middle of winter. it gets so cold there. one year everything was icy, even the horses tails. There is so much room there though. Dressage is in 2 different areas so there is lots of space. The grass arenas are sloped but again, I don't mind that. The SJ has 2 arenas 2. One for the lower grades can get very boggy, and the other is undercover. The surface is great but it gets a bit spooky sometimes for the more inexperienced horse, or if you have a horse called Coolie. I like the courses though.
XC warm up is tight, but the course is one of my favourites. There are some big jumps out there, but I always have a blast. Plus we spend the weekend with a fire to keep warm, drinking hot chocolate and eating chips. We camp with a big group of us and always have a really good time.
Out of all the events I'm thinking about maybe doing this year if I decide Dryandra and Moora are at the top of the list. They are both my favourite events, we always have a blast. I will be sad if i miss these two so I think they are my favourite.
We are so lucky here to have a strong eventing community. It's quite amazing really and numbers keep growing. Often at the big events we will have 300 competitors across all the grades. Most people are down in the 65-95 levels, with only a handful competing up to 4* (and we have a few riders who are at 5*, but no 5* events).
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| Have to hop on a plane to get here! |
We have a wide range of events from those in Perth, to some about 2 hours away. The most I have to drive is just over 2 hours, it makes it so easy to do this wonderful sport! Because we have so many great events, it makes it hard to pick just one. There is lots to consider, the XC course, warm up areas, camping facilities, general company, the standard of the event. I'm not fussed on prizes, since we rarely finish in the top 10 instead the atmosphere and how the competition runs as a whole is more important to me.
Out of the 14 or so Equestrian Australia events that run in WA (Pony Club also run events, and some of those are awesome too, but since I primarily compete EA I'll stick with those), I have a few events that I really love. They run well, they have a great XC course and we always seem to have a good time.
Wooroloo is one of the biggest events we have in WA, and since it's close to home it's not a camping event. The event runs so smoothly, everything is on time and the XC course is incredible. it's challenging, with some pretty decent hills and it can be really slippery. The SJ arena has good footing and plenty of space to warm up. The dressage though is tight. The warm up is on the cross country course, and all the arenas are on a slope. Thats fine for us, since our paddock at home it on a slope but the warm up causes issues!
Moora again has a tight dressage warm up. We always get a terrible score there because coolie does not like it. The SJ arena is beautiful though the warm up is tight and boggy. The XC course though? it's amazing. I love running XC there. Its open, with a bit of a slope making it perfect for galloping. The course is fun and challenging enough to keep you on your toes. The camping facilities are good, and it always runs very smoothly. Plus it's always on my birthday weekend.
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| Cake is a big plus |
Dryandra is held in the wheatbelt in the middle of winter. it gets so cold there. one year everything was icy, even the horses tails. There is so much room there though. Dressage is in 2 different areas so there is lots of space. The grass arenas are sloped but again, I don't mind that. The SJ has 2 arenas 2. One for the lower grades can get very boggy, and the other is undercover. The surface is great but it gets a bit spooky sometimes for the more inexperienced horse, or if you have a horse called Coolie. I like the courses though.
XC warm up is tight, but the course is one of my favourites. There are some big jumps out there, but I always have a blast. Plus we spend the weekend with a fire to keep warm, drinking hot chocolate and eating chips. We camp with a big group of us and always have a really good time.
Out of all the events I'm thinking about maybe doing this year if I decide Dryandra and Moora are at the top of the list. They are both my favourite events, we always have a blast. I will be sad if i miss these two so I think they are my favourite.
Those venues all sound really great.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have so many options!
DeleteSo lucky to have so many venues around!
ReplyDeleteIt is really amazing!
Deletei really *really* want to experience eventing abroad, as i'm sure it's in some ways so different from here in the states. most likely, tho, that'll mean hitting up one of the majors in the UK like Burghley (total bucket list item right there). buuuuut, who knows, maybe that would make for an excellent reason to get all the way over to Aus too???
ReplyDeleteI really want to go to Burghley or Badminton too! It would be amazing to see eventing in other countries as from what i read it does seem fairly different. You should definitely come to Aus ;)
Deleteuhm that cake looks amazing
ReplyDelete