It took three days of events and a nation full of horsewomen to discover who, exactly, was the greatest. DANEKA HILL reports.
Riders travelled from as far as Katherine in the Northern Territory and North Queensland to compete in the first ever Australia’s Greatest Horsewoman event in Tatura in northern Victoria in early April.
But in the end, the winner came from only 65km away.
Violet Town rider Jess Smith won the honour of being crowned ‘Australia’s greatest’ with a score of 136.5.
But it was a very narrow victory — runner-up Rose Wellersley and her horse Corona took second on 136 points.
Jess, who rode This Cat Curls to victory, said the inaugural Australia’s Greatest Horsewoman event had “opened up opportunities in the cow-horse discipline”.
“I look forward to seeing the event grow,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Chesney Glover from Tatura won Reserve Junior Champion and Best Junior Reining.
Riders competed across five events: reining, cutting, extreme cowboy racing, fence work and a top 10 all-discipline final shoot-out.
Organised by Boonie Doon’s Kim Peterson and Merton rider Steph Lancefield, the event was held at Tatura Park — the only venue in Victoria capable of hosting a large livestock event.
Steph said the attendance had been beyond what she expected.
“This is the first event we’ve ever run. The sportsmanship between the girls has been like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” she said.
“Not only were they riding to an extremely high level, but everyone has gone home with a new friend.
“No-one came thinking they knew it all, probably because no-one has ever done something like this before.”
The event also featured a trade show and an art exhibition, which sold numerous equine artworks.
The organisers say all that’s left to do now is start working on next year’s event.