18 Notable overseas achievements in the past 12 months include Chris Burton with Quality Purdy and Polystar 1, Sammi Birch with Hunter Valley II, Andrew Hoy with Vassily De Lassos, Bill Levett with Lassban Diamond Lift, Emma McNab with Fernhill Tabasco and Sam Griffiths with Paulank Brockagh. Closer to home, Christine Bates won the Sydney CCI3* (Adelaide Hill), Jade Findlay won the Melbourne CCI3* (Oaks Cordelia), Matt Gaske won the Tamborine CCI3* (Thymes Too), Emma Bishop won the Wallaby Hill CCI3* (CP Issey Miyake) and of course Shane Rose won the Australian Championships at Equestriad (Virgil). The sport of Eventing in Australia is on the improve, with participation rates for this year on target to match or better 2017 with approx. 19,300 combinations starting. In 2015 there were approx. 19,900 combinations and that dropped dramatically in 2016 to approx. 16,000 (probably as a result of the debate surrounding Hendra). But numbers bounced back in 2017, and is continuing to improve albeit slowly. (Important to note that the figure for 2018 is only until the end of August). Roger Kane is our National Safety Officer and together this year we have established a number of initiatives for safety in our sport. In particular, new rules governing cross country course design have been introduced, with the mandatory requirement of safety devices to be used where appropriate. All States have stepped up in this respect, with most States being able to provide the safety devices to clubs free of charge, thanks largely to Terry Snow, the State contributions and State determination to help our sport become as safe as possible. Our Course Designers have been extremely diligent in learning how to attach the devices correctly and are using them at both FEI levels and National levels where required. This has been an expensive exercise for all States, but worth every dollar invested. Safety in our sport world-wide has and will continue to be a high priority. To this end, this year some changes have been made to assist riders in gaining valuable experience at the EVENTING