Riders celebrate the success of the Alyce Sadleir beginner horsemanship clinic in Cooktown on 18-19 May. Photo: Supplied.
Riders of all abilities have had the perfect lead-in to their first competition of the year with a two-day horsemanship clinic in Cooktown on 18-19 May.
Cooktown Horse Sports Association (CHSA) brought the Alyce Sadleir beginner horsemanship clinic to town to enable those interested in getting into the sport, or simply improving their existing skills, to learn from an expert.
The event was made possible through funding from the State Government’s Active Women and Girls Program, and CHSA president Sarah Frew said it had been an overwhelming success.
“All levels of riders were welcome to attend, and we got a range of levels from beginner to experienced,” she explained.
“Everyone has taken something from it, which is great.”
As the name suggests, the clinic taught participants the basics of horsemanship, the learnings of which will be used on 25 May when CHSA holds a competition at Cooktown Racecourse, with the feature event set to be the $400 open barrel race.
Ms Frew said the skills learnt at the clinic could be applied to any horse sports discipline.
“It’s about the fundamentals,” she said.
“Everything you learn for each event is all the same, you just apply it differently.
“It’s not very often we get people up to do stuff like [the clinic], so it’s a good experience.”
