Eventing

Format

The Eventing Phase at Northside Riding Club proudly boasts a full calendar of events held throughout the year in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, including competitions in the form of Derbys & Combined Training, and non-competitive training clinics.

Eventing is a 3 phase competition where the same horse and rider combination competes in the disciplines of dressage, showjumping and cross country. At Northside Riding Club, we don’t have the facilities and space to run a full cross country course, but we have a number of portable fences used on training days and in derby competitions to allow our riders and their horses exposure to these types of obstacles. Our extensive collection of portable cross country fences cater from encouragers’ level (50cm) through to prenovice (1.05cm).

Regularly held clinics with some of the best riders and coaches in the business offer the perfect opportunity for the serious competitor to get some all-important cross country schooling sessions or open the path for less experienced horses and riders to come and train under the experienced eye of a seasoned professional, all while enjoying the beautiful surroundings of the Princes Anne Arena.

Covering all three disciplines allows the NRC Eventing Phase to run a variety of competition formats throughout the year. The most popular are Combined Training and Derby. In addition, NRC supports the training series held at Batesland in Wilberforce. Owner, organiser, and 4* event rider Christine Bates runs a valuable training series of clinics and competition days to prepare riders for the competition environment. Her property boasts a full length cross country course, and NRC proudly supports her events and training days. We encourage our riders to gain valuable experience by making the most of these opportunities.

How to Enter

If you would like to come and compete at an event you will need to enter before the day. Entries normally fill up before the closing day so you may need to be quick sometimes. All entry to competitions is done via Nominate (www.nominate.com.au). We will advertise the competition on the NRC Calendar and Facebook page including when entries open and close. It will then be up to you to go online and book into your class.

What you need to know:

Back protectors are always compulsory if jumping any fixed obstacle at Northside, whether it be in competition or training.
Riders must wear correct riding footwear – plain half-chaps are acceptable.
ASA and EFA approved safety helmets are compulsory and must be worn at all times when mounted on NRC grounds
Collared t-shirts and jodpurs are acceptable attire.
Horses do not need to be plaited.
There is no restriction on bits.
Running martingales are allowed, however no draw reins or standing martingales.
Boots and bandages allowed (boots recommended).
Short dummy spurs only.
No stopwatches or timing equipment is allowed – part of the challenge or skill is being able to ride to the
optimum time set by metres per minute (mpm) for each class. The mpm is based on the level of competition and will take into account the riding conditions on the day.
At Derby competitions a course map will be provided on the day with course walk taking place at the beginning of each class. You may walk the course after the competition has begun provided you stay out of the way of any horse on course.
A horse/rider combination may enter in 2 consecutive height classes on the day
Extra training rounds may be entered in the same height with only the results from the first round counting towards the competition.

Results

Results from the day will be emailed out to all competitors and also uploaded onto our facebook page.

Helping

Eventing requires large amounts of set up, so we are always in the need of volunteers! Eventing competitions are usually held on a Sunday with set up generally on Saturday around midday. When we advertise the competition we will always include when set up will be and ask for you to come and help – the more hands we have the easier it is. Plus there is a competitive advantage for riders to come and help set up as it will enable you to see the course and jumps the day before you have to ride – maybe you might need some overnight water or skinny training!! (hint hint)..

Every time you come and help out we will provide you with cold drinks and snacks, and a $10 Volunteer Voucher which you can use at any NRC Phase competition. If you help out on competition day you also get a yummy lunch and we happily fill you up on coffee if you are there early on…

On the Day

When you arrive on the day of competition your first job is to make your horse safe and comfortable. After this you need to come up to the Clubhouse and collect your wristband. Please ensure you come with plenty of time to get yourself organised before your ride time.

Clinic Etiquette

We try very hard to get a good, professional and varied group of trainers, riders and industry professionals to come and conduct Eventing clinics at Northside. In the past we have industry professionals such as Wayne Roycroft, Hamish Cargill, Tarsha Hammond, Annabel Armstrong, Sam Lyle, James Mooney, Tallara Barwick, and Dave Cameron – just to name a few. Part of a clinic situation is that all riders, horses and instructors should be respected. Please ensure that you arrive well before your clinic time and present mounted and ready to ride to your instructor. Being polite and involved means that we can continue to not only provide a great training environment for you and your horse – but also an enjoyable experience for the visiting instructor meaning we can continue to get great people back to Northside.

Contact

Derby Phase Head - Natalie Rochester

Combined Training Phase Head - Kathy & Shelley Topham

Other Info

Finally, if you have any questions please contact one of the NRC Eventing Phaseheads well before the competition as on the day we are all very busy ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible. If you are not competing, we love having spectators! Everyone is always welcome to pop in and have a look or enjoy a good cup of coffee from our onsite coffee van. Our sponsors are also very important to us so please support them wherever you can and happy riding.

We look forward to seeing you at NRC Eventing.

Important Eventing Links: