THE 37th annual Mount Gambier Easter Showjumping Festival will return to the Blue Lake Sports Park velodrome today, with up to 60 riders competing.
Over 100 horses will be on show at the festival, which will take place across four days during the Easter long weekend, finishing on Monday.
For the first time in the event’s history, spectators will be able to enjoy a speed championship held on the final day of competition.
Mount Gambier Showjumping Club president David Johnson said the new event should bring an exciting element to the already prestigious festival.
“It will be a really good spectacle for the crowd, because they go hard looking for shorter corners and the like,” he said.
It will be known as the John Wilson speed championship and will run under slightly different rules than the more traditional class system to encourage aggressive racing.
“Every time they hit a rail it adds four seconds rather than four points to their final time,” Johnson said.
“Rarely if you pull two rails you are going to be in the blue ribbon spot, but (in the speed challenge) you can pull a rail and encounter a four-second penalty and still win.”
The historic event has grown to be the biggest stop on the Mount Gambier Showjumping calendar and Johnson said it has attracted some of the top riders from Victoria and South Australia.
“It is a very popular event and it has been going for 37 years,” he said.
“We have people coming this year from Gippsland, Mildura, Adelaide and many places in between.”
Johnson said the field has strengthened thanks to the recent South Australian state titles.
“This year we are fortunate it has followed the South Australian State Championships in Strathalbyn,” he said.
“A lot of people from Victoria have actually travelled over and on their way back have stopped in for preparation.”
Johnson said the region has produced some of the best talent on show during the four days.
“You have Kristie Bruhn,” he said.
“She is the newly crowned South Australian Senior State Showjumping champion and became the first person to have ever won four senior state championships.
“Also Jess Kent – she has recently won the Victorian State Country Showjumping championships.
“You also have Kane Johnson, who placed second in the state junior championships.”
The first of 24 competing classes will start today at 8.30am, with the following three days starting at the same time.
Each day’s action will finish around 5pm, aside from Monday which will see competition finish around 4pm.
The festival is free entry for spectators.
