HORSE TALK

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30829, 14 August 1965, Page 11

HORSE TALK

Practice Day A One-Day-Event practice day will be held tomorrow at Yaldhurst grounds. It will be for horses only and any riders wishing to take part must notify the Junior Committee secretary beforehand. In the afternoon all crosscountry fence stewards and judges interested will be briefed on marking fences and any problems will be discussed with the chief judge. Mrs D. M. Crowther. This should prove a valuable practice for both riders and fence stewards alike. Dressage Group In future, the dressage group will not accept new members until they are 17 and are members of the Horse Society. To cater for riders who are not eligible, the group will hold instruction days at a charge of 10s a day. These will be held during school holidays, the first to be at Yaldhurst on August 31. Coming Events The junior committee's spring horse trials will be held on September 12 at Halswell. The roads to the event will be sign-posted from the turn-off on the Akaroa highway. There are classes for both novice and open horses as well as two dressage classes run in conjunction with the horse trials. Horse Society At the annual meeting of the Canterbury area of the New Zealand Horse So-

ciety, Mr B. G. Rutherford was elected president, Messrs K. F. Mcßride and A. Ward-Smith vice-presi-dents. Mrs D. M. Crowther secretary, and Mr G. Hutton treasurer. Two committees were elected, an executive of 14 and a general committee of 24. It was decided the general committee should attend at least three executive meetings during the year. It was suggested that it would be advantageous to form sub-committees to control and deal with the following: show jumping, dressage, horse trials, catering and fund raising. This was done at a later executive meeting. The feeling was expressed that every effort should be made to help and encourage organisers of F.E.I. show jumping events to improve the standard of courses and fences. It was felt that at many country shows these were inadequate. It is hoped that an instruction course will be held for all interested in course building and planning. Jose A. Koolman and Jose, who, with Miss D. Dunn and Holyport, represent New Zealand at the Melbourne three-day event in September, must find selection a well earned reward. Behind them they have several years of hard work and dedication with consistent performances throughout. Jose is a 10-year-old bay gelding by a Balandshar colt called Royal Leap out of an unraced thoroughbred mare which was a successful show jumper. His sire won hurdle races as an entire.

Koolman purchased Jose as a six-year-old from Mr A. Bull, of Gisborne, and says Jose is a very young 10-year-old as he was not broken in until he was five and then was worked for only six months before being turned out. He has only been out of a place once in one-day events and that was at his first start. He has won £ll7 in trials and is an open combined training horse. At the Horse of the Year Show in 1964, he won the combined training championship after leading in the dressage phase and then jumping a clear show-jump-ing round. This was his first big win.