Twenty-five future challenge riders from around Victoria rallied up the hill to the High Country over the weekend, where Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria (MCAV) local liaison officers, Amanda Pendergast and Amber Connley, put together a challenge clinic for riders 12 years and over.
Six of the best horsemen and women in the industry took pride of place in Benambra over the weekend, where they instructed the next generation over two days, sharing their knowledge and skills in their chosen disciplines.
Those disciplines included whip cracking, cattle handling, packhorses, obstacle courses, dry patterns and shoeing.
“We were lucky enough to have Lyric Anderson, Nicole Gibbs, Hayley Hinton, Daryl Baines and two local legends Aleshia Sievers and Chris Connley attend as our instructors for the clinic,” Amanda Pendergast said.
“All of them are past winners and place getters of the MCAV Get-Together events over time, which meant they could share their competition experiences and pass on all their knowledge to the younger generation, keeping our heritage alive.”
MCAV secretary, Rhyll McCormack, said it was ‘absolutely fantastic’ to see so many young riders having a go and wanting to learn the history of the MCAV.
Continued page 3
From page 1
“Our talented instructors have real bush skills, some of the aspects of challenges, like using pack horses is a dying art, and seeing the next generation wanting to learn and soak up all of our instructors’ knowledge throughout the clinic really topped the weekend off.”
The next generation of riders were also lucky to have a couple of local guest speakers, including John Cook, who make up a huge part of the MCAV, attend Saturday night, where they shared a few stories of their families, their history and their knowledge of the Mountain Cattlemen and how they cared for the high country before the grazing bans were put into place many years ago.
“Seeing so many of the Next Generation sitting there, quietly, observing and listening to our speakers made me really proud to be a part of the MCAV,” Amanda said.
“It really made me want to push to keep our heritage alive for our future mountain cattlemen and women.”
The clinic came at the right time for competitors, as challenge season is fast approaching, with the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association holding its annual Get Together on October 18-20, this year in the Omeo Valley.
With some big entertainment booked in, The Mountain Cattlemen’s event is one not to be missed, making a family fun event for all.
Tickets are available on the MCAV website.
