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“Lakes & Craters” bucks the trend
The 2007 Lakes & Craters Three-Day Event held at Camperdown in Victoria last weekend was the first international-level Eventing fixture held on the Eastern Seaboard after the outbreak of Equine Influenza. Although the field was practically limited to horses from States other than New South Wales and Queensland, it was a great event.
Our congratulations to Barry Roycroft and his crew for organising it, and congratulations to the winners of the various classes. On a side note, conditions for moving horses to and from the various “zones” in NSW and Queensland and interstate have now been finalised. These conditions are now “doable” although some of the practical aspects still need to be sorted out. The revised condition should, however, enable organisers in all regions to plan viable events for next year.
Full story
Lakes & Craters International 3DE at Camperdown in Victoria is traditionally the final date on the Australian Eventing calendar. This year was a little different. The August outbreak of equine influenza saw the cancellation of virtually all equestrian competitions in eastern Australia for the remainder of 2007. When Lakes & Craters went ahead over the weekend of 7-9 December it became not just the last major event for the year, but the only one since late August. Lakes & Craters organisers, led by Barry and Lyn Roycroft, made the brave decision to run the event, knowing that no NSW or Queensland horses and riders would be able to attend. They also knew that Victoria was EI-free and there was no reason not to go ahead with the event. And go ahead it did! As expected, the fields for the various higher-level classes were well down on previous years. There were full fields for the Pre-Novice, Junior Pre-Novice and Preliminary events. Winners of the CCI***, Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester, and the CCI**, Wendy Schaeffer and Koyuna Sun Storm, travelled from South Australia, as did several other South Australian combinations. Laura Wallace from New Zealand competed in the CCI*. Bio-security measures for the event were strict but not onerous. Lakes & Craters proved that bio-security compliance and smooth event running can run hand in hand. Barry Roycroft said it was all just a matter of commonsense. ‘Riders had to decide whether they were prepared to take responsibility for themselves and their horses. Those that felt the risk was worthwhile registered and came to event. Those that didn’t stayed away. ‘As event organisers, we knew that Victoria was EI-free and the chance of an EI-outbreak anywhere in Victoria during the event was minimal. We also knew that, if the seriously unlikely did occur, the L&C venue was capable of holding all competitors in a lockdown situation over an extended period in acceptable conditions. ‘We took a positive approach rather than a negative one to dealing with the EI situation.’ The CCI*** was won convincingly by Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester. They led from the dressage test and finished on a score of 50.8. Megan also took out second place on Kirby Park Allofasudden. Wendy Schaeffer took out the CCI** on Koyuna Sun Storm on a score of 51.4. Wendy also won the CCI* on Lord of the Sun. Megan’s win with Jester qualifies them for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games selection. Barry says that all of the Eventing selectors were at Camperdown and able to see the pair compete. Barry says he sees no reason for major events not to be scheduled and to go ahead in eastern Australia from early 2008. ‘There’s absolutely no reason to go to ground because of EI. Running events is do-able now and will become more so as movement restrictions are revised. We may well run a CCI*** at Camperdown in April next year.’ Peter & Judy Orr of Main Event Photography were official photographers for Lakes & Craters. Like all in the equestrian world, they have been 'starved' for competition over the last four months. When Peter sent through his photos from the cross-country phase he added a note to his email that said 'PS – great to be out working again and watching horses competing. Roll on SIEC!' Peter was able to send photos through at the end of each day of competition with the assistance of National Eventing Coach Wayne Roycroft, who loaned his wireless equipped laptop to Peter so that he could climb out of the crater at the end of each day to email photos and snippets of news through. Thanks to Peter, Judy and Wayne for their co-operative efforts. Lakes & Craters definitely proved that major events can be conducted in the face of EI. The coming week should see regulations and conditions regarding the movement of horses within and between EI zones and between States finalised. When this happens event organisers should be able to move into the New Year with the confidence to schedule major events for 2008. Lakes & Craters Results |
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