Interschool 2023 Recap

At the end of September 2023, the Tasmanian Team headed to Werribee to attend the 2023 Australian Interschool Championship hosted by Equestrian Victoria.

The horses made the trip over the Bass Strait, with some travelling in their own floats,  but a large group was very well looked after by the team at Tasmanian Horse Transport.

The team checked in to Werribee on Thursday welcomed by Team Manager Sue Goldfinch who supported the riders through the check in procedure. Everyone was very organised with their horse papers, many using the new digital option via the MYEA App.

Thur and Friday were used to settle the horses in, and of course get ready for the opening ceremony, always a highlight of the competition. The team looked super in their 2023 uniform.

Saturday saw the start of 4 days of competition and Team Coach Jo Farlane helped prepare the riders with course walks, training sessions and warm-ups. It was lovely to see the Tasmanian team get along to watch other riders’ tests and rounds to offer support.  At the end of each day, the team all came together to celebrate their teammates who had showcased their talents competing that day, and those who received well-deserved ribbons at the presentation ceremonies.

EVIC also offered a great social calendar with evening events including a dog jumping evening and scavenger hunt.

On Saturday night, after a Team Pizza meal which was funded through the fundraising efforts of a number of the riders and well supported by the ETAS members who purchased a Sausage of brought a cupcake (thanks everyone!), Tasmanian’s own Ken and Barbie (Lucy and Ella) took part in the evening Pas de Deux which everyone enjoyed watching – and the girls and their horses looked fantastic.

The team worked very hard throughout the competition caring for their horses and giving it their all in their classes. The team had a number of group webinars prior to the event, a key message was to have fun, enjoy the experience, be organised and prepared, focus on our own personal goals and support each other, and they did that so well.

Kenny was a fantastic Team Captain supporting and leading the team – she even had a whiteboard with everyone’s test/round times to ensure the team could follow what each other were doing! A big thank you also to Kaitlyn and Meg who were sadly unable to ride the event, but still came along and were a fantastic support crew.

Tuesday saw the closing ceremony and a very happy but tired group of riders, horses and their supporters.

Again, huge thank you to Sue, Jo and Kenny for supporting the team, the hard work and long hours they put in certainly enhanced everyone’s experience, we are very lucky to have such dedicated volunteers.

And let's not forget our incredible supporters, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and more, who played an instrumental role in the team's journey.

Next year Interschool Champions will be held in September in Tamworth, hosted by EQLD.

If this year’s team has inspired you, the 2024 qualifications handbook is out now, so you can find out all you need to about qualifying and applying for a position on the team.

Again, a huge well done to everyone. Below is a summary of the riders who placed in the top 10 of their classes, as you can see for a little state, we achieved a lot – you can also watch a video here with Team Captain Kenny being interviewed after winning the 2* Eventing.

 Note: Jumping had 3 classes and dressage 2. Placings are per class.