Our region can now lay claim to another national champion.
Park Ridge Horse trainer Katherine Hopkins has returned home from the Australian Arabian National Championships in Sydney with a national champion and a bronze champion.
Having owned and trained Arabian show horses for a large part of her life Ms Hopkins, who also competes in equestrian events, was over the moon with the result from the event held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre on March 18-19.
Young gelding Bogart MI brought home the gold champion led title for the Park Ridge resident, while Dark Knight MI also brought home ribbons to Park Ridge with Ms Hopkins saying it was a great reward for her efforts.
“Our yearling Arabian gelding won gold champion and our older Arabian gelding, he’s a saddle horse, he was bronze champion ridden gelding,” she said.
“We put in lots of work, the saddle horse (Dark Knight MI) I’ve been training for three years, we bought him as a four-year-old and he is now seven.”
“The young horse (Bogart MI) we bought last November, so that was only his second show, we’re very pleased with him,” she said.
“We have had show horses – Arabians – for about 30 years now.”
After having to make the arduous drive all the way to Sydney from her home in Park Ridge in her truck, Ms Hopkins said both horses travel well, but take to the longer trips better when they have each other for company.
“They both came from Sydney originally, the older horse Dark Knight he went down last year to compete at the East Coast Championships at the same venue,” she said.
“They are not really used to it I guess, but they do travel really well, especially together,” she said.
The horses were judged on a range of different factors in each category making Ms Hopkins and the efforts of her horses all the more remarkable.
“The led horses are scored on their confirmation, type, legs and movement,” she said.
“Whereas saddle horses are also judged on movement and paces, as well as their presentation, quality and education in the saddle.”
