WITH the Scone Horse Festival fast approaching, preparations are in full swing for the annual equine celebration in May.
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Nominations are now being requested for three awards - Scone Horse Festival VIP; the Young Achiever Award; and Horse of the Year.
It’s the first time the committee has introduced a ‘Horse of the Year’ accolade which will recognise the outstanding achievements of a horse from the Upper Hunter Shire.
Scone Horse Festival Committee president David Gatwood said the award will recognise all breeds and sporting disciplines.
“The Scone Horse Festival is about celebrating the history and positive impact of horses in the Upper Hunter,” he said.
Nominations will be welcome for horses from any breed or sporting discipline, such as camp drafting, cutting, dressage, pony club, polo, racing or rodeo.
“Down the track we would like to encourage each sport to establish their own annual awards and then nominate their most accomplished horse each year for the Scone Horse Festival Horse of the Year,” Mr Gatwood said.
The idea was put forward by local horse stud owner Peter Haydon who represents a long family history of breeding and celebrating horses for a variety of disciplines through Haydon Horse Stud since the early 1830’s.
“As Horse Capital of Australia, we have such a broad scope of horse pursuits from pony club to all the performance horses, to racing,” Mr Haydon said.
“And whilst the Scone Horse Festival has always recognized people, it is so very appropriate to acknowledge the achievements of an outstanding horse as Horse of the Year.”
The other awards remain unchanged, with the VIP being awarded to a person in the Upper Hunter Shire who has made an outstanding contribution to horses and the Young Achiever awarded to a person between the ages of 16 and 21 who has excelled in their chosen horse sporting field.
Nominations close on March 31 and forms can be found here.
Winners will be announced at the Scone Horse Festival VIP Gala Opening on Friday 4th May 2018.