Zara Stumpo and Salient Quickstep flying around the cross-country course.
Pony Club Victoria’s Barwon Zone hosted the Victorian State Horse Trials at Colac Pony Club on May 16 and 17.
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Barwon is one of 16 zones that make up Pony Club Victoria.
The North Eastern Zone is one of those zones and consists of 16 individual pony clubs.
NEZ had 19 riders from eight of their clubs qualify to represent their zone at the State Horse Trials, two of these being from Shepparton Pony Club.
The two riders representing the Shepparton and District and Horse Pony Club and the North Eastern Zone were Zara Stumpo riding Salient Quickstep (AKA Esme) and Ruby Emanuelli riding Chatswood Wild Rover (AKA Rover).
Zara qualified for the Grade 5 division and Ruby the Grade 4 division.
To qualify, the girls were required to compete in a minimum of three qualifying horse trial events in their appropriate grade and excel to accumulate points.
Each event had to be in their local zone or within the state of Victoria to count towards their points.
Horse trial competitions incorporate three separate disciplines; dressage, show jumping and cross-country.
The dressage and showjumping components were held on the Saturday, with the competition concluding on Sunday with the cross-country element, which proved especially challenging due to wet weather.
Zara and Esme ended up in sixth place after their dressage test with a score of 71.3 per cent, but a cheeky refusal in the show jumping knocked the combination down a few placings after the 4-fault penalty was added.
A fabulous round in the cross-country on Sunday had them finish nine seconds behind the combination that took out the Grade 5 overall Championship, having them finish in 10th place from a field of 32 other very competitive combinations.
Ruby and Rover landed in sixth place after scoring 67.9 per cent in their dressage test.
A close chip-in resulted in clipping a rail, causing it to rock and eventually fall at jump 6B and one lazy rail at jump nine saw them finish their show jumping sitting in 12th place.
Sunday’s cross-country was progressing beautifully until they unfortunately missed jump six, resulting in elimination.
Proving memorising and navigating a course are additional challenges too when negotiating a course of rigorous jumps.
The Shepparton and District Horse and Pony Club and NEZ would like to pass on a huge congratulations and thank you to the Colac Pony Club alongside Barwon Zone for hosting a fabulous, professionally run event and express how proud we are of each NEZ competitor; the team spirit was alive and all our riders behaved in a manner that made us proud.
Joining a pony club opens the door to a world of equestrian adventure; experience the joy of riding, learn essential skills, and make lifelong friends, while participating in fun events and competitions.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced rider, our supportive community is here to help you grow and thrive in your equestrian journey.
Now is the perfect time, with the 2026-27 membership year starting July 1. Joining Shepparton Pony Club now gives you a complimentary rally, being held Sunday, June 7 at the home grounds in Kialla.
For further information, contact club president Karen Bond on 0418 578 755 or for membership details Peta Stumpo on 0425 803 877.
Ruby Emanuelli and Chatswood Wild Rover strutting their stuff in the dressage arena.
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