Wet and windy weather at the annual North West Horse Expo at Coonabarabran on June 1-4 was no barrier to the New England Girls’ School team, which came away with the bulk of the major trophies in the school’s best showing for some years.
The team has now won the two premier school equestrian competitions in the state this year, having taken out the champion secondary school title over 152 other schools at the Equestrian NSW Interschools competition in March.
All but two of 38 riders who comprised the NEGS team — the largest at the Expo — came back with ribbons, with the prize haul spread right across disciplines and year groups. Conditions forced the cancellation of the polocrosse and six-bar showjumping championships, to the disappointment of NEGS riders, however there was no shortage of spoils to be shared amongst the team.
For the fifth consecutive year, NEGS won the Salmondae (Mackie) Team Eventing Trophy, for the top three riders (Anna Moxham, Victoria Farr and Hayley Menzies) placing from championship grade down.
The school also reclaimed the Poole Family Trophy for the school with the highest pointscore based on the total points of its top four riders. The strong performances by Laura Strelitz, Anna Moxham, Laura Anderson and Hilary Blackman snared back the trophy won five times previously by NEGS, most recently in 2008.
Boding well for the future, Years 7 and 8 students Laura Strelitz, Isabella Ritter, Clare Askey and Elizabeth Hancock won the Gower Family Trophy for the champion team of four in hacking. Meanwhile Phoebe Kamper, Isabella Ritter and Laura Strelitz won the Clarke & Cunningham Dressage Trophy for the best performing team of three riders in dressage on the Monday of competition.
NEGS Equestrian Centre manager Andrew Haddad said the team’s results were all the more creditable, given the conditions. “The girls were simply phenomenal in their attitude to competing. They were cold, they were wet, but dug deep.”
While not wanting to highlight individual achieve-ments, he said the winning of the Gower Family Shield for the champion team of four in hacking reflected the depth of talent.
“These four girls are only in Years 7 or 8, yet beat girls of all ages. It certainly paints a rosy picture for the future,” he said.
