This competition is held over 2 days.
The Grand Prix will be ridden on Friday and the Grand Prix Freestyle or Kur will be held during the Dressage Spectacular on Saturday evening.

The FEI World Cup for Dressage Riders is a series of competitions at FEI Grand Prix level, coprising a number of qualifying events and a Final. It is conducted under the FEI rules for Dressage and World Cup dresage rules. At Equitana riders from New Zealand and Australia will have the last chance to qualify for the prestigeous World Cup Pacific League final which will be held at Werribee in December.

The judging panel includes Uwe Spenlen from Germany, Allison King from Hong Kong and Helen Hughes Keen from New Zealand.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or phone 03 9596 8744 for further information.

Entry forms will be available for download from this website soon.

For further information please contact:
Sicca on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it phone: (03) 9596 8744 or
Alex on  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it phone: (03) 5977-5192

Entry forms will be available for download from this website in August.

Entry forms will be available for download from this website soon.

It is getting toward the end of another hot dusty day and both you and the horse are tired. There is still one heifer left in that huge herd of cattle and she has to be gotten out. We only want the one beast – not a dozen, and as luck would have it, the one we want is in the middle of the mob. Somehow we have got to sneak in to the herd right up to where she is, get behind her and slowly move her through the herd and get her out in front. We have succeeded and the herd has hardly moved. Now we then must keep her from returning to the mob; all this without disturbing the rest of them.

This is going to depend on your horse. He must be really cattle smart and once he knows which cow you want he will need to do the work himself. When the cow is out front he has got to be athletic enough to counter every move of the young cow. His job is not over until the beast is roped and led away. Now the cowboy can wash and feed his steed and relax until tomorrow.

This scene, enacted every day all over Australia, has become a sport in which a horse and rider must cut out a cow from the herd and hold it away from that herd. Each move of the cow must be countered by the horse, literally nose to nose. To make it more difficult the rider may not cue the horse and the reins must be loose. This then is Cutting. Each horse has only two and half minutes to do all this. The horses are very highly trained and arguably the most athletic horses that exist in competition. There are two judges both of whom are highly qualified to judge this competition. They attend judging seminars and tests and judge all over the country. The whole sport is run under the rules of the National Cutting Horse Association Inc. in Tamworth NSW. There are classes for all levels of the sport from Youth to Professional, beginners to top riders and a class just for you!

For further information please contact Dr Paul Older (03) 5942-5068 
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Reining is a judged event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch type horse within the confines of a show arena. In NRHA competition, contestants are required to run one of ten approved patterns, included in the NRHA Handbook.

Each pattern includes small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll backs over the hocks, 360 degree spins done in place, and exciting sliding stops that are the hallmark of the reining horse.

The NRHA Judging System is recognized as the leading format for judging an equine event that combines technical and stylistic elements coupled with consideration of "degree of difficulty". Many segments of the equine judging discipline have openly embraced the NRHA Judging System.
 
Reining has flourished in the last decade internationally.  In 2006, there were over 660 approved shows worldwide with a prize payout of over $10million (US).  Reining in Australia will embrace the international competition when it supports an Australian team at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky (US). 

For further information about the Reining competition at EQUITANA contact Debbie Versluis on 0416 204 397 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.reiningaustralia.com.au

Mr McCuistion, who comes from Oklahoma, has trained professionally for over 25 years and has judged for the past 10 years throughout the USA and other countries extensively. Carl is an approved Judge with the AQHA, APFA, NRHA, NRCHA and USEF and has officiated at clinics all over the world including Germany, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, USA and Canada.

The NPHA will be inviting the top horses and riders from their Celebration Show, which is being held at Sydney International Equestrian Centre in September 2008, to compete and take part in the demonstration.

Entry to these events will be by invitation only. The following will be held on Friday morning in the main competition indoor arena.
  
Yearling Lungeline - Buckle & $ 500 prize money paid to 3rd
Open Western Pleasure - Buckle & $1500 prize money paid to 3rd
Amateur Western Pleasure - Buckle & $ 800 prize money paid to 3rd
Youth Western Pleasure - Buckle & $ 500 prize money paid to 3rd
Open Hunter Under Saddle - Buckle & $1000 prize money paid to 3rd

The National Pleasure Horse Association of Australia was formed 24 years ago by people with a passion for promoting the Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle equine disciplines.

Western Pleasure is one of the most popular western show events. A good Western Pleasure horse should be as the name implies: “a pleasure to ride”. Contestants compete as a group, traveling around the perimeter of the arena on the rail and are asked to walk, jog, lope and reverse the direction of their horses at the judges’ direction. Riders must hold the reins according to the head gear the horse is shown in i.e. Snaffle - horses are shown two handed while bridled horses are shown with one hand. A rider cannot change hands on the reins during the class. A rider cannot touch the horse or saddle during the competition with his/her free hand

Every year the NPHA holds an annual show which is the pinnacle of the show season in Australia, being the largest western horse show in the southern hemisphere. All breeds are eligible to compete at the NPHA show but the majority of horses competing are Quarter Horses, Appaloosas and Paint horses.

The 2008 competition will see some of Australia’s best horses and riders competing for the title of EQUITANA Asia Pacific Supreme Champion Saddle Horse and Equitana Asia Pacific Supreme Champion Rider.

Horses and ponies will compete in the following groups: Hacks, Galloways, Large Ponies, Small Ponies and Shetlands. These horses first work around in a circle as a group, then each horse will perform an individual work-out, after which the overall Supreme Champion is chosen by the judge.

The riding Championship will be decided by riders in the 3 different age categories: Senior Rider (18 yrs and over), Intermediate Rider (over 14 yrs and under 18 yrs) and Junior Rider (12 to 14 yrs). These riders will also work in a group, followed by individual work-outs, after which the judges decide the Supreme Champion Rider.

Saddle horse is a sport for all ages from tiny five-year-olds with Shetland ponies to elderly people who still find it a happy and pleasant pastime.

For further information pelase contact Jan Smith 0417 527 412
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To download a nomination form click here.

Today campdrafters range from amateur to professional stockman, with whole families testing their riding and horse skills against each other and the cattle.

The aim of the competition is to cut a beast from a small mob in the camp, moving their horse among the cattle quietly and bring the chosen beast to a gate at the other end  (front) of the yard, for a short time blocking the beast two or three times preventing it from returning to the mob. When the competitor feels that control of the beast has been demonstrated to the judge, they call for the gate to be opened. Once on the arena, the competitor is working against the clock (forty seconds) to guide the beast around two pegs in a figure of eight pattern, and then drive the beast between a final two pegs known as the gate.

The best combination of control of the beast, riding skills, speed and completing the course scores the highest points. It is not unusual to see a beast gated in under twenty five seconds, demonstrating the speed and agility of the specially trained horses.

The ability of the horses, combined with breathtaking horsemanship, makes campdrafting a sport for both competitors and spectators.

For further information contact Marilyn & Tony Bowden – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , (02) 6386 6204

www.campdraft.org.au

Mounted Games are a series of very fast races, exciting for participants and spectators alike, performed by young people on ponies.  

The riders require a high degree of athletic ability, good riding skills, hand-to-eye coordination, general determination to see things through to the end and a competitive and team spirit.
Come and experience the excitement of high speed changeovers that Mounted Games have to offer.

For further information about the Mounted Games competition at EQUITANA contact John Beale  on (02) 9979 5033 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

www.australianmga.com 

The aim is to promote carriage driving as a legitimate sport, while showing the different breeds suitable for the sport. At Equitana 2008 we will present some of the country’s best drivers in single and pair harness.

The course combines two of the three elements of a Carriage or Combined Driving event (CDE) – the Cone Driving and Marathon Obstacles. A CDE usually consists of Dressage, Marathon and Cone Driving competitions combining scores in each to produce the winner. In the Obstathon the Cones course include two Marathon Obstacles which are driven in numerical sequence on the course. The objective is to register the fastest and cleanest round.

For further information about the driving competitions at EQUITANA contact Angela Hennel on (03) 9439 7843 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

ACDS Victorian Branch website

The players should mark their opposite number; that is the No.4 should mark the No. 1, preventing him from scoring by hooking and riding off.

There is no “offside” rule. The rules are common sense based on a player having the “right of way” in order to eliminate danger.

Therefore, no player shall play with his left hand. Play starts from a line up in the centre by one of the two umpires throwing the ball.

The team that scores the most goals wins. Behinds don’t count. The umpires will award penalties depending upon the severity of the infringement. When a penalty I is given, a goal is signalled and a throw in occurs 10 yards out from the penalised team’s goal mouth.

Penalty II –30 yards free hit
Penalty III – 40 yards free hit
Penalty IV – 60 yards free hit
Penalty V(a) – free hit on the spot
Penalty V(b) – free hit from the middle of the ground

"Chukka"
Also called a period. There are six chukkas in a polo game (four in arena polo & low goal polo) each lasting 7 minutes plus up to 30 seconds in overtime. If, during the 30 seconds, the ball hits the sideboards or goes out of bounds, or if the umpire blows his whistle, the chukka is over. There is no overtime at the end of the sixth chukka unless the score is tied, at which time a seventh chukka will be played until the first goal is scored. A player returns to each chukka on a different horse. Although he may rest one for a chukka or two and play him again.

The essence of the game is team work.

www.victorianpoloclub.com.au