COMPETITORS from Our Lady of the Rosary School, Kenmore, were riding high at the Interschool Equestrian SEQ Regional Championships in Beaudesert recently.
The championships cover the south-east Queensland region, extending from Warwick to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and the Lower Toowoomba Ranges.
Ten primary schools, including winners from Our Lady of the Rosary, Kenmore, entered with a minimum of three riders.
Our Lady of the Rosary students Bella Anthony, Clare Munro, and Georgia Rink competed in the primary dressage classes and collectively, their individual scores earned them the Team “2015 Reserve Champions Primary School Dressage” title.
Dressage involves a horse and rider performing a series of pre-determined movements in the 60m x 20m arena, known as figures.
Judges give scores based on the horse’s performance, not the rider’s.
The Catholic schoolgirls competed across four disciplines and earned strong individual results, winning the overall Champion Primary School trophy with top scores, as well as the Champion Primary School with the highest average percentage across the three days of competition.
The team also emerged as Champion Primary School Combined Training Team.
Bella has been riding since she was four years old and her horses are Mr Ghostbuster and Euston Playboy.
This was Bella’s first year competing within the interschool program.
Clare started pony club with her horse Beau 18 months ago and loves dressage, while Georgia has been riding since she was six and her two horses are Paguay Jo and Cricket.
Georgia’s mother Lisa Rink said the sport was “a fantastic way (for the girls) to meet other kids with similar interests, working as a team and learning to be a good loser as there are many ups and downs in this sport”.
The girls agreed that lots of love, hugs and adoration were the best reward for their horses. They often treat them with carrots.
The State Combined Training Championships are being held at the end of July in Warwick where Georgia, Bella and Clare will compete again.
