Rescue Swag First Aid
The only First Aid Kit you will ever need no matter where you roam!
Droving Australia’s Outback
One of Australia’s Outback legendary droving stories could have come straight out the annals of the “Wild West”.
Captain Starlight, of Robbery Under Arms fame, gave the Strzelecki Track notoriety. In 1870 Harry Redford, also known as Starlight, drove a thousand head of stolen cattle from Queensland, down the Barcoo and Cooper past Mount Hopeless, to Blanchewater where he sold them for $10,000. Although he was caught and went on trial for his crime, he was found not guilty by a jury largely impressed with his audacious feat of blazing a new cattle stock route, making him one of the greatest drovers in Australian history. This droving track goes from Lyndhurst in the south to Innamincka, South Australia and beyond in the north. It used to be one of the driest and loneliest tracks to transport mobs of fat cattle to the Adelaide market.
Here is an re-enactment of this story of Droving Australia’s Outback in 2014. A great account of a remarkable feat!
Some great old photographs we found of what drovers may have looked like to going droving way back then.
Endurance Riding
Endurance Horse Riding – the sport the whole family can enjoy.
Competitive endurance horse back riding, first began in the USA. It was inspired by Wendell Robie who organised the first competitive ride from Lake Tahoe across the mountains to Auburn in California; one hundred miles to be completed in less than 24 hours, under veterinary supervision.
Of course Australians were convinced that anything the Americans could do we could do as well. There were many willing and able riders and horses. But there was a lot of controversy initially because some considered it cruel. Nevertheless the first competitive ride in Australia was held in the Hawkesbury valley, west of Sydney on the 1st of October 1966.
It came to be called the QUILTY, after Tom Quilty, a Kimberly cattle man, who supported the idea and who donated the money for a Gold Cup.The first 100 mile ride in Australia, was supervised by Professor Hutchins who ran the Camden Veterinary Hospital.
The start was flagged off at minute intervals, by the Shire Mayor, Mr. Turnbull. The riders had signed a document to say that they would ride as individuals and did not ride for any prize money. The successful combinations received a silver buckle, and that has been the practice since.
The Australian Endurance Riders Association was formed to regulate this new sport. Rules were added to suit the circumstances and the veterinary criteria also were tightened, on the advice of the veterinary team. The Quilty was held every year over much the same track.
After a few years, a referendum was held among the riders to decide if the Quilty should be held in a different State each year. This idea succeeded. The numbers of riders increased dramatically, as those who could not afford to travel to Windsor, N.S.W. could still compete.
Novice riders and novice horses means that newcomers to the sport need to qualify themselves to be able to ride in open endurance rides in Australia. All horses must have a log book which identifies the horse and all the rides that it has entered, including its successes and failures.
Joining one of the Endurance Riders Associations is the first step to a great sport.
The Equestrian Federation which controls all rules for equestrian sport world-wide has developed a set of rules for endurance horse riding competitions. Our Australian riders must comply with these in overseas competition. FEI rides are held in Australia from time to time so that our riders have the opportunity to qualify to compete overseas. To ride overseas is an expensive exercise and only a very few have the means to do this.
Useful Links
Horsemanship Clinics
A more gentle approach to Horsemanship in general is a growing trend with trainers and riders alike. The philosophy behind the Harris Perfect Ride Clinics, as opposed to older methods of horse breaking, training and horse riding, is that by understanding the needs and fears of your horse, you are able to build a better relationship.
It also recognises that each person and each horse is an individual with individual issues. The Perfect Ride clinics in gentle horsemanship are based on the belief that through communication, understanding and psychology, versus mechanics, fear and intimidation, not only will you become a better rider, but you will be safer and gain more from your horse. The objective is to customize our horsemanship clinics to achieve this.
While it is impossible learn how to be a natural horseman “overnight” simply by attending a short 2 or 3 day clinic, the guidance and training will be a start to feeling safe, confident and understanding your horse and yourself better. The 6 day clinic is designed to build on those skills and teach you how to safely and easily break in a new horse, with no bucking, biting or kicking.
A more gentle approach to Horsemanship in general is a growing trend with trainers and riders alike. The philosophy behind the Harris Perfect Ride Clinics, as opposed to older methods of horse breaking, training and horse riding, is that by understanding the needs and fears of your horse, you are able to build a better relationship.
It also recognises that each person and each horse is an individual with individual issues. The Perfect Ride clinics in gentle horsemanship are based on the belief that through communication, understanding and psychology, versus mechanics, fear and intimidation, not only will you become a better rider, but you will be safer and gain more from your horse. The objective is to customize our horsemanship clinics to achieve this.
While it is impossible learn how to be a natural horseman “overnight” simply by attending a short 2 or 3 day clinic, the guidance and training will be a start to feeling safe, confident and understanding your horse and yourself better. The 6 day clinic is designed to build on those skills and teach you how to safely and easily break in a new horse, with no bucking, biting or kicking.
Dressage … Interesting Facts
Dressage
Originally intended for military use, dressage training was begun early in the 16th century. The international rules for dressage are based on the traditions and practice of the best riding schools in the world. The following is an extract from these rules of the Fédération Équestre Internationale:
Object and general principles.
The object of dressage is the harmonious development of the physique and the ability of the horse. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with its rider. These qualities are revealed by the freedom and regularity of the paces; the harmony, lightness, and ease of the movements; the lightening of the forehand, and the engagement of the hindquarters; the horse remaining absolutely straight in any movement along a straight line, and bending accordingly when moving on curved lines.
The horse thus gives the impression of doing of his own account what is required of him. Confident and attentive, he submits generously to the control of his rider. (Used with permission of the publisher.)
Campagne is the term used for elementary but thorough training, including work on the lunging rein. This long rein, also used for training young or difficult horses, is attached to a headpiece with a noseband called a cavesson. The horse is bitted and saddled and is schooled in circles at the end of the rein. It is an accessory to training from the saddle, which is always best. Basic to campagne is collection: teaching the horse to arch its neck, to shift its weight backward onto its hindquarters, and to move in a showy, animated manner. Other elements of campagne include riding in a straight line, turns, and lateral movements.
Haute école is the most elaborate and specialized form of dressage, reaching its ultimate development at the Vienna school in its traditional white Lippizaner horses. Some characteristic haute école airs, or movements, are the pirouettes, which are turns on the haunches at the walk and the canter; the piaffe, in which the horse trots without moving forward, backward, or sideways, the impulse being upward; the passage, high-stepping trot in which the impulse is more upward than forward; the levade, in which the horse stands balanced on its hindlegs, its forelegs drawn in; the courvet, which is a jump forward in the levade position; and the croupade, ballotade, and capriole, a variety of spectacular airs in which the horse jumps and lands again in the same spot.
All of these movements are based, perhaps remotely in some instances, on those that the horse performs naturally.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/
Some people ask What Breeds of Horses are used for dressage? More information here.