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News > Equestrian > Flashback: Equestrian 2020

Flashback: Equestrian 2020

10 Jun 2022
Equestrian

2020 has certainly been an unusual year for everybody with many challenges, however NEGS Equestrian Centre and our riders have come out the other end determined, resilient and re-energised. Before COVID-19 restrictions took effect, NEGS held our very first Inter-school event in March which was very successful by all accounts. As a part of the 125 year celebration NEGS also ran all the horse events for the Armidale Show on March 6-7. There was a Showjumping competition on Feb 6th and a Dressage Competition on Feb 29th.

After a term of school closure during which we lost our Gap Students and many key staff, we reopened in Term 3 with a new team on board and a goal to reopen with a busy program of internal clinics, including regular fortnightly coaching from Triple Gold Medalist Matt Ryan. We attended an in-house demonstration on PEMF Pulse Therapy and talked worming schedules with Virbac. Highlights of Term 3 were providing students with lots of high level training opportunities including Dressage with Peter Shaw, Show Riding with Les Friend and Breakaway Roping with Crooked Creek Ranch. We had a very successful student led Jump for Chocolate competition, attended Armidale Riding Club Official Dressage Competition and ran an internal End of Term

Extravaganza in all disciplines which was a huge success and lots of fun to end the term. We were unable to hold our Annual One Day Event or attend any of our usual Interschool competitions such as ISHE, North West Expo and SIEC, some of which could not go ahead as usual. Some students were able to get out later in the term and during holidays to attend a few events with parents. We made the most of what was available locally by attending another Armidale Riding Club Dressage Day and hosted many more clinics in Term 4 including Trick Riding, Dan Steers Horsemanship, Roping and Barrell Racing, Les Friend, Peter Shaw, Andrew Cooper for Showjumping, and we were very fortunate to have continued fortnightly training with Matt Ryan for eventing. Some eventers were able to get out and about when Quirindi ODE ran with a new date in late October. As events started to run again, riders took all opportunities to get out and compete under COBID-19 restrictions.

We learned about ulcers in a scoping demonstration with Randlab and our local equine expert vet and finished the year with another fun and challenging End of Term Extravaganza. It was great to see the Equestrian Centre a hive of activity again with many smiling faces and much camaraderie. NEGS EC is feeling rejuvenated with an enthusiastic new team, a passionate new parent group with amazing ideas and skills to volunteer, a new Senior Leadership team and all students using the unfortunate circumstances of 2020 to train hard, challenge themselves by stepping out of their comfort zones and ready themselves for the prospect of getting out
and about at competitions again very soon. We look forward to an even better year in 2021!

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