MORE than 60 riders competed in the four-stage 2014 HRCAV Gold, Grapes and Grain Dressage Series.
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Grampians Riding Club hosted the first leg of the series in early April, Horsham had the second leg on April 24 and the final two stages were at Great Western on May 24 and 25.
Points were accumulated across the four stages, with riders entering in five categories – with level one being the highest.
Event co-ordinator Cindy Francis said the competition was extremely popular, with competitors travelling from north-west Victoria and South Australia.
“It’s probably been running for the past five years in its format now,” she said.
“Sixty riders is the maximum for each leg, and we were maxed to capacity in every leg of the series.
“It’s got great notoriety and we actually had people on waiting lists to enter, so we had to turn some people away this year.”
The annual event is hosted in turn by three Horse Riding Club Association of Victoria riding clubs: Great Western, Terang and Horsham.
Grampians rider Kaye Clayfied won level one riding Garvin’s Pride, while Francis – of Horsham and District Riding Club – took out level two riding King Chorus.
Francis’ club-mate Angela Carter triumphed in series three with Cartier’s Gem, while Wimmera Horse Performance Club’s Courtney Dickerson enjoyed success riding Copper Q Philadelphia.
Level five was won by Horsham and District rider Clint Robins, who was aboard Mr Beau Jangles.
Francis said to be eligible to win, riders had to compete in a minimum of three events – with two tests conducted at each.
“You really didn’t know how you were going to go until the third one,” she said.
“It’s your six best scores out of a possible eight, so if you ride the four, you get a better chance.
“You get a certain percentage for each test and sometimes it comes down to the finest percentage point.”
Francis said Horsham and district’s next event was a two-day competition at Elmore in September, ahead of the Top Teams trophy at Werribee in November.