On July 3, six riders, their horses and coaches from the Sunshine Coast Equestrian Club (SCEC) travelled to Maple Ridge to compete in the BC Heritage Circuit Finals.
To be able to compete at the finals, horse and rider teams had to have qualified in at least two Heritage Qualifying Shows in the last year. The Heritage Circuit Finals encompass all disciplines from vaulting, dressage (including western dressage), hunter/jumper, English hack classes, western performance and driving.
Cash prizes totalling $10,000 were awarded throughout the weekend for placings from first to fourth.
The competition begin on July 3 with a long and very hot day of hunters (a class ridden over a course of jumps and judged on the horse’s way of going and form), jumpers (a timed jumping class) and dressage (riders perform a predetermined pattern approximately five minutes in length where the accuracy and harmony of horse and rider are scored for various movements).
In an attempt to beat the heat, classes started at 7 a.m., which meant a 4 a.m. start to the day. Five horse and rider teams competed in the jumpers and dressage with great results.
On July 4, three of the club’s riders competed in the English hack classes throughout the day with more excellent results in very competitive classes. By Saturday afternoon they were all hot and tired; thankfully a creek runs through the end of the show grounds allowing the competitors to cool off a little.
For three of the riders and at least four of the horses it was their first time competing off of the Sunshine Coast. They all handled it extremely well and proved to be competitive in all their classes – even bringing home prize money for many of their placings against some very tough competition.
The next event for the SCEC will be the Ted Bowe Memorial Barrel Race to be held Aug. 8 at the SCEC grounds on B&K Logging Road.
For full results from the Maple Ridge event, see www.hcbc.ca/BC-Heritage.html?
