With October comes the natural signs that spring is well and truly underway. The pear blooms are done with, the poplars are once again covered in green leaves, and the Glen Innes Spring Show Jump is back for another year.
Held on the long weekend, 5-7 October, and organised by the Glen Innes Show Society, the event offers over 20 classes from 60cm to 135+cm across two rings of show jumping. Jumping aside, the social agenda is renowned for offering the very best of country hospitality that Glen Innes, and indeed the New England are known for.
The Grand Prix event, with bars set at 1.45m high, draws world-class talent in to the competition, many of whom have represented Australia on the global stage.
Charles Kiehn, Senior Vice President of the Glen Innes Show Society and Chief Steward of the show jumping said, “Nearly everyone who competes in Glen Innes just competed in the World Cup held at Tamworth,”
“Even newcomers have a good time, and we walk them through what’s happening via the announcements,”
“It’s our Grand Prix that all the top guns, the elites, come out to try and win. It’s good jumping.”
With equine sports riding high after the Paris Olympics, where Thaisa Erwin out of Uralla just represented Australia, the Show Jump encourages young riders from pony clubs to join in, and to witness the champions competing.
Each year of the Spring Show Jump sees a variety of hot social events gracing the calendar, the hottest of which is put on by the Ladies Auxiliary. All the competitors come along and mingle, including a few past and present Olympian jumpers.
Kiehn’s favourite memory from the 2023 Spring Show Jump was their final jump off: “Of the eight riders, each was faster than the last and everyone was on the edge of their seats watching this impossibility come to life before their eyes,”
“The winner has represented Australia on the global stage, but I reckon they were more stoked to win at Glen Innes.”
The Glen Innes Spring Show Jump runs at Glen Innes Showgrounds from Friday 5 October through to Sunday 7 October. Entries open Wednesday 4 September and close Friday 27 September at 10:00pm AEST.
More information, including entry forms, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/gleninnesshowjumping.
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