North West Equestrian Expo ropes in success

By Jimmy Whalan

Competitors at the 2023 North West Equestrian Expo were met with more dust than mud this year, with mostly clear weather throughout the 31st year of the event.

The annual competition ran from Friday, June 2 to Tuesday, June 6, with 500 competitors from over 70 schools making their annual trip to Coonabarabran for the largest interschool high school equestrian event in Australia.

North West Equestrian Expo secretary, Rebecca Moxham said this year’s event was capped at 500 riders to ensure everything ran smoothly and the grounds were not too crowded.

Despite the limitations, Mrs Moxham said the event remained the biggest of its kind in Australia.

“One of the highlights of this year’s Expo was the polocrosse final on Sunday evening, which was a hit for spectators and riders alike.

“The final was ultimately won by three riders from Kinross Wolaroi School, in Orange, who previously took out the competition in 2022 and have also represented Australia in Polocrosse.

“Another crowning moment came when riders from Scots All Saints College in Bathurst won the Eventing trophy, defending their two year title.”

However, Ms Moxham said the most popular event was the Working Horse Challenge, which attracted about 300 competitors and was won by Georgia Maben, Scone Grammar School.

Georgia went on to win the Highest Individual Point Score at Expo’s final presentation on Tuesday.

Alex Letts, Coonabarabran High School, won her Eventing 65 division with a young, family-bred horse that she had trained specifically for the event.

The win was made even more special as it was Alex’s final year competing at Expo.

Mrs Moxham commended Alex for her efforts in training the horse herself for such a high-standard event.

Alex said she was especially proud of her horse, Lucille.

“She was home-bred from a young mare I rode when I was younger.

“My dad and my brother broke her in and, since then, she’s been my project horse, which has been a great outlet throughout Year 12.

“She’s only four, but she handled the busy atmosphere as if she was 10 years older.”

Alex said she had been fortunate to grow up on horses that her family had trained and made into good horses.

“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to learn how to make Lucille into a good horse, and it was lovely to finish my Expo days on a win.”

Another Coonabarabran rider, Hannah Evans, representing Calrossy Anglican School, placed third in Combined Training with her horse, Duchess.

Alex and Hannah are daughters of former Expo competitors, Ren Letts and Lucy Evans, and have become part of a horse-riding legacy passed down from parents to children.

Mrs Moxham said the organising committee was happy with the way the event went this year, chalking it down as another successful North West Equestrian Expo.“I would like to give my compliments to the riders on another successful event, the standard seems to be improving every year.”

Mrs Moxham extended her thanks to the 12 members of the committee from Coonabarabran Pony Club, Coonabarabran High School (CHS), Warrumbungle Eventing, and the Showground Trust, who all help make the event possible each year.

“Volunteers are the backbone of Expo, with head stewards from the community running the different events and local groups like Rotary, who help fuel riders and volunteers with their delicious meals throughout the day.”

Mrs Moxham also thanked the Coonabarabran VRA for the provision of paramedic services, CHS for its printing and secretarial services, as well as Year 11 students who helped with cleaning up the grounds, for which they were rewarded with a donation towards their graduation formal.