Sport
26 March, 2025
Campdraft conquers
THE Toogoolawah Campdraft was held from March 21–23, maintaining strong participation despite multiple reschedules due to weather
Committee member, Tiara Hurley, said organisers were grateful the annual event could still go ahead.
“The event ran really well, we had a really good turnout even though we had to change the date a few times due to the cyclone,” she said.
“We were really lucky to be able to get another date, because the Fernvale campdraft was meant to be this weekend.
“We had heaps of competitors turn up and there were no falls or anything like that, so that’s always good, and it was very hot.”
A total of 270 competitors took part in the event. While attendance was slightly lower than usual, Tiara said this was a positive result given the scheduling clashes with other campdrafts.
Fernvale resident Andrew Stallman claimed victory in the coveted Open Campdraft, riding Rathcool Athena. The only other local winner was Esk’s Lily Dennehy, who took out the juvenile category on her horse, Kit Kat.
Other winners included Jamie Gray on Pip in the Novice A event and Jackson Bateman on Hicks Special Lady in the Novice B.
A new addition to this year’s program was the Lady Shoot Out, which offered a $1000 prize to winner Tamara Peters.
Tiara said the rest of the campdraft followed its usual format.
She encouraged more people to get involved in the sport, describing it as fun and inclusive for all ages.
“It’s a really great environment to take your family and have a nice wholesome weekend where everyone gets along and socialises,” she said.
“You also get to compete your horses, a lot of training and effort goes into getting your horses ready.
“To train a horse for campdraft it takes about five years, and then they are still pretty rusty and you have to keep training.”
The next campdraft in the Somerset region will be the Kilcoy Campdraft, set for May 23–25, followed by the Esk Campdraft, which will celebrate its 110th anniversary.
