CEO Update - September 2023

As we head into the last quarter of what has been a very busy year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the achievements and milestones we have reached together as an equestrian community.

In the past month, we have witnessed remarkable accomplishments from our Australian teams. Our Australian Jumping Team showcased their exceptional skills and determination by securing 2nd place in the Challenge Cup held at the FEI Nations’ Cup in Barcelona against some very strong opposition. Furthermore, our Australian Drivers, Tor van den Berge and Andrew Damsma also performed strongly in the FEI Pairs Driving World Championships, to bring Australia home in a commendable 6th place. 

The inaugural Equimillion competition, which was held at SIEC starting 30 September, was by all accounts a great success. With a large number of entries, off-the-track thoroughbreds were showcased across multiple disciplines to highlight their versatility and suitability for a career after racing. We thank Racing NSW for this initiative and are positive about the future partnership potential, to deliver what we hope will be the first of many such events to be run across the country.  More importantly, to develop re-homing and re-training opportunities for retired racehorses. 

We are now into the season of national championships. The National Interschool Championships, held in Werribee last week was a resounding success, with hundreds of students and their equine partners descending upon Victoria for this event. The National Vaulting Championships held at Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC) also wrapped up over the weekend and was a wonderful display of the talent that we have in Australia. This week we head into the National Para-Dressage and Dressage Championships at Boneo Park in Victoria, which will be first opportunity for our Para and Dressage athletes to start their individual qualification campaigns for Paris 2024. We have a record number of para-dressage riders at these championships.  It is a good indication of the strength and growth of the para discipline in Australia.  Then following only a few weeks later, back at SIEC, we have our Australian Jumping Championships and then the Show Horse Nationals.

With the upcoming Paris Olympics and Paralympics, we have an exciting year ahead and are confident that we will continue to build on the fantastic traditions of our sport at the international level. Following that, the potential and opportunity that will come to Equestrian and the sport sector over the next decade, leading into Brisbane 2032, is enormous and we need to be positioned to capitalise on it. As we look forward to the months ahead, I am filled with anticipation and excitement as our organisation continues to grow stronger and we have a “once in a life-time” opportunity to address some of the issues around the structure of the sport. Taking advantage of that in our reform process is important to ensure future sustainability. There are amazing people involved in our sport – passionate and with a willingness to get involved to drive improvements. We will be harnessing this energy and ensuring we can deliver a strong organisation to take us into the future.

Whether it be in the arenas or on the trails, I encourage you to embrace the challenges and opportunities that come your way and wish you all the best for the month ahead.