Reining Australia 2017 Gold Buckle Futurity and National Championships

The Reining Australia 2017 Gold Buckle Futurity and National Championships will be held from September 19 to 23 at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre at Tamworth in New South Wales.

A webcast of the full show program will be available from September 20 to 23 at australianequinenetwork.com.au. There will be full live commentary for the Gold Buckle Futurity starting at 5:00 pm on Friday, September 22 and also for the Reining Australia National Derby from 3:00 pm on Saturday, September 23.

The venue has a world class 40 m x 80 m indoor arena with extensive high-quality stabling and camping facilities. Tamworth is a prosperous regional city of 40,000 residents and is centrally located to the majority of our competitors. Many will travel for two days or more to get to the show.

Judging will start on Tuesday with our entry-level Green Rider Level 1 and Level 2 classes. The Green Rider program was inspired by NRHA’s Green Reiner initiative and is designed to introduce riders to reining competition. There were 25 nominations in these classes in 2013 followed by a steady rise every year to 60 nominations in 2016. We anticipate great support for this event in 2017 and have set aside the entire Tuesday show schedule to accommodate it. This is the only opportunity for a Green Rider to run for a national title and buckle and some competitors will travel up to 1,000 km to Tamworth for just this one class.

The 2017 Continental Affiliate Championships proper start on Wednesday morning with the Novice Horse Open and Non-Pro, Level 1 and Level 2 classes, run concurrently. This is another big event in the show. There were 75 runs in 2016 and more are expected this year.

Reining Australia schedules at least one feature event every day of the show. The feature event on Wednesday is a Snaffle Bit Futurity, added to the National show program this year by popular demand. The inaugural class will have just two divisions, Open and Non-Pro, with a plan to expand the options for competitors in future years.

Thursday begins early with the Rookie Level 1 and Level 2. After the judge deals with this big event, there will be a late lunch break before the Freestyle commences at around 2:00 pm. After the Freestyle, Thursday’s feature classes, the Open and Non-Pro, will run concurrently.

Competitors in the Continental Affiliate Championship Non-Pro are also entered in the Michelle Halliwell Memorial Non-Pro class. Michelle was a great Non-Pro competitor and a much-loved member of the Australian reining family. In addition to the prize money and NRHA buckle, the Non-Pro champion receives a unique silver buckle sponsored by Michelle’s friends and family in her memory. The winner’s name is added to the Michelle Halliwell Memorial Trophy. It is a great honour for a Non-Pro to join this elite group.

Friday’s program opens with the Intermediate Open, Intermediate Non-Pro and Rookie Professional classes, run concurrently. Next is the stand-alone Prime Time Non-Pro class, always hotly contested at the National show. The Short Stirrup and Youth events complete the day program on Friday.

The feature competition on Friday evening is the 2017 Gold Buckle Open Futurity. This is the premier event for Australia’s young horses. Excellent scores in the various regional futurities throughout the year indicate that the 2017 Gold Buckle Futurity will be a tough competition with outstanding performances. A total of nearly $40,000 in prize money is up for grabs, not to mention the prestige that goes to the winning horse, its owner, its trainer and its breeder.

Saturday is the last day of the National show. The program starts with the concurrent Limited Non-Pro and Limited Open classes then steps it up a notch with the 2017 Reining Australia Non-Pro Futurity. The Non-Pros will run their young horses for buckles, prizes and nearly $10,000 in total prize money across Limited, Intermediate and Open divisions.

The Welcome Ceremony follows while the dust is settling and we are gathering our strength for the high-octane finale, the 2017 Reining Australia National Derby. Don’t miss this event. Nearly three hours of speed, spins, and stops will showcase the best 4-, 5- and 6-year-old horses and their Open and Non-Pro riders as they compete for the National title and a total of nearly $20,000 in prize money across three divisions each.

LIVE STREAMING AVAILABLE HERE.