It's time to start planning your personal "holiday" at EQUITANA Melbourne. Pricing for tickets is available now so you can begin planning with our Provisional Timetable located on the EQUITANA Melbourne website under Visitor Information. Kyra Kyrklund returns to present the specialist Dressage clinic and will team up with her partner and fellow Dressage Trainer, Richard White, in the education program. The amazing Mary King will bring all her knowledge and experience to the arena educating on every aspect of Eventing, as only she can. The team are also very excited to be able to share a little bit about the first of the three contestants in the Way Of The Horse Horsemanship Challenge, Naish Hogan from Caboolture, QLD. So get ready for a great new equine experience in Melbourne this November!

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KYRA KYRKLUND AND RICHARD WHITE COMING TO AUSTRALIA!

EQUITANA Australia is proud to announce that legendry dressage trainer, Kyra Kyrklund, will be delivering the Specialist Dressage Clinic in Melbourne this year. And, partner and fellow dressage trainer, Richard White, will be coming out with her to co-present demonstrations in the daily Education Program. Kyra will work with rider and horse combinations from a young horse just being started in dressage training to a Grand Prix level performer. Richard has assisted Kyra with training, both at home and on competitions since 1990 and works with many other international riders. Kyra will also deliver a presentation on how to put together a winning KUR as a special feature to the Saturday evening Dressage Freestyle competition.

EQUITANA WELCOMES MARY KING (UK) TO MELBOURNE

Mary is a British Olympic Equestrian sportswoman whose list of accomplishments is nothing short of astounding and the list isn't complete yet, as Mary is a strong contender for the 2012 Olympics. She has represented Great Britain at five Olympics, winning one bronze medal and one silver medal in the team eventing and laughingly tells you that she is going for gold this year! Mary has won two gold and one silver medal in the World Equestrian Games team eventing and four team gold medals at the European Eventing Championships, along with one bronze and one silver medal in the individual event. She has been British Open Champion multiple times and last year, was named "World Number One" rider. Her experience in competing at the top is unmatched, so don't miss her Masterclass.

NAISH HOGAN IN THE WAY OF THE HORSE

EQUITANA Australia is happy to announce our first contestant for the Way Of The Horse Horsemanship Challenge. Having had the opportunity to grow around horses, Naish developed the desire to work with them from a very young age. Naish has gained his experience over the past 16 years in breaking and training young horses in Australia in America. In 2010, he and his partner Kirra Walker joined the English riding background from Kirra and Naish's Western roots to develop a strong partnership training horses in Caboolture, QLD and clinics around Australia. They pride themselves on providing friendly, supportive training and education to their clients, strongly believing that it is just as important to educate the rider as much as it is the horse.

SYDNEY ROYAL DELIVERS SECOND CROWN TO SHANE ROSE

The Sydney Royal Easter Show was the setting for the first 2012 Equestrian Grand Final Exhibition Eventing and Jumping qualifiers. Olympic Silver Medallist and London Olympic Games hopeful Shane Rose won the Exhibition Eventing class for the second consecutive year. Rose was all smiles as he and his six year old gelding Virgil galloped to victory. It was the young riders who swept the stakes at the Jumping World Cup Qualifier. 18 year old Tom McDermott walked away with first and third place and a fast pace and near faultless performance handed second spot to Evie Buller. Pairing with Romantic Dream McDermott jumped clear in both rounds and posted a very quick final time of 60.00 to take first place in the season opener.

EASY ON RUGS FIRST MELBOURNE EVENT!

EQUITANA Australia is happy to announce that Easy-On Rugs will be joining the Melbourne event this year as the Official Rug Sponsor. Easy On Rugs are an Australian owned and operated company, manufacturing a full range of horse blankets, "rugs for all seasons and all reasons"! Over the eight years Lyn and Ross Essex have owned Easy-On Rugs they have strived to show that the products they manufacture are one of quality and can be trusted to provide this time after time.

RACV FARM INSURANCE BACK FOR ANOTHER MELBOURNE EVENT

EQUITANA Australia is proud to announce that RACV Farm Insurance will be joining the team again for the 2012 Melbourne event as the Naming Right holder for the EQUITANA Information Tent. Farms and agricultural businesses come in all shapes and sizes. RACV Farm Insurance can protect both your personal and business assets and is flexible enough to cover a wide range of farming and other agribusinesses. RACV Farm Insurance caters to the specific needs of farmers, without the fuss.

As promised in our last edition, the Melbourne 2012 program will be chock full of great new programs and education options this year, so you will definitely need to plan ahead! We are proud to announce the appearance of our special guests from the US – Josh Lyons and Richard Winters, who will jointly present exclusive EQUITANA clinics. We also reveal the exciting line up for The Way of The Horse challenge. The announcements will keep coming, so make sure you regularly visit the website and look out for your monthly e-news.

www.equitana.com.au

THE WAY OF THE HORSE CONTESTANTS ANNOUNCED

EQUITANA Australia is proud to present the new three-day, young horse "starting" contest, where three of Australia's leading horse trainers demonstrate their highly personal and specialised methods of connecting with an unstarted horse. Auditions for the five shortlisted trainers were held at Seven Oaks Arabian Stud and it was a delight to see their beautiful horses engage with the trainers. The three successful candidates from the day were Ken Faulkner, Naish Hogan and Bianca Gillanders. As we have a standby trainer each year who is guaranteed a place in the next challenge, Ken Faulkner and Naish Hogan will join 2011 standby, Paul Clarkson, in the 2012 Challenge, with Bianca Gillanders as standby.

TWO DEDICATED HORSEMANSHIP CLINICS FOR MELBOURNE!

There will be two fantastic horsemanship clinics to choose from at EQUITANA this year. Both clinics will be delivered jointly by two of America's great Horsemanship trainers, Josh Lyons and Richard Winters. The Behavioural Clinic on Thursday 15th offers you achievable solutions to dealing with problems such as bucking, rearing, bolting, head shyness, floating issues, biting etc. The Western Performance Clinic on Friday 16th focuses on the education of a horse for reining, western pleasure, trail and cutting sports. The different perspectives Josh and Richard bring to the arena guarantees that both these clinics will be exceptional learning experiences.

JOSH LYONS – THE LYONS LEGACY (USA)

Josh's early life was spent learning from and training with his famous Father, John Lyons. From age 16, Josh gave weekend clinics, trained horses, conducted private instruction and assisted with the John Lyons Certification Program, which he now conducts, manages and owns. The certification program is one of the world's most sought after equine educational schools and runs in six countries. Whether starting a young horse, changing leads in a reining pattern or working with a specific behavioural problem, Josh's' understanding of the horse's mind and his ability to bring out the best in both riders and horses is unrivaled.

RICHARD WINTERS AND DAUGHTER SARAH WINTERS (USA)

For nearly three decades Richard Winters has dedicated himself to honing his horsemanship skills and passing this knowledge onto others. Richard's credentials include a World Championship title in the National Reined Cow Horse Association and Champion of the Road to the Horse - Colt Starting Challenge. He is also author of a popular training book and a presenter of his own television show. Richards's daughter Sarah, who will join him in daily presentations, has already earned credits such as Ladies Reserve World Championship in both 2009 and 2011 and is a two-time Open Finalist for NRCHA Premier Aged Events.

PRYDE 'S EASIFEED VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW!

Become part of the Pryde's EasiFeed volunteer team! Being a volunteer at EQUITANA Melbourne is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in the many different aspects of the country's most exciting equine event and to work with a great team and a wide range of equine industry experts and leaders. We are seeking 200 enthusiastic, passionate people to work at the event. With various jobs available from customer service to working in the stables there is sure to be a job you'd like!

OMKINSON SETS THE BAR FOR THE EQUESTRIAN GRAND FINAL

A number of Australian based Dressage combinations are one step closer to competing at this year's Equestrian Grand Final after strong competition at the year's first qualifier – the CDI-W held at the annual PSI Dressage and Jumping with the Stars (DJWTS) in Werribee, Victoria. The first of five qualifying events for the Equestrian Grand Final - Dressage, the CDI-W Freestyle saw one of Australia's most promising combinations; Maree Tomkinson and Diamantina IV take the title as well as top position on the Equestrian Grand Final Dressage leader board.

EQUITANA WELCOME PRYDE'S EASIFEED TO THE TEAM

Pryde's EasiFeed are proud to be sponsors of the 2012 EQUITANA Melbourne Volunteer Team. Pryde's is an Australian owned family company that is committed to producing the best quality horse feeds at competitive prices. Manufacturing a range of extruded, grain based feeds, Pryde's have built a reputation for the integrity of their feed blends. Come and see Pryde's in the Epsom Pavilion, stand #530 to find out more about their specialised formulations for growing, breeding and performance horses!

TUFFROCK TAKE ON THE OUTDOOR ARENA

The EQUITANA Australia team would like to welcome TuffRock® as the Melbourne 2012 Naming Rights Sponsor of the Outdoor Competition Arena. TuffRock®, located in the Hunter Valley, NSW manufacture the "World's first" ancient energized, volcanic bio-available minerals for collagen, joint & stress support". TuffRock® products, made from Australian earth elements, are exported to 11 countries including USA, Japan and New Zealand, with distributors in UAE, UK, Ireland, Malaysia, Turkey and Baltic regions.