We had the pleasure of attending the Terrific Tenterfield ride this past weekend, held in the beautiful Girard State Forest east of the town of Tenterfield, NSW.  The dire warnings of rain from the Cyclone and cold weather were not heeded, and the weather was quite hot on Saturday, prompting the purchase of ice, but then turned overcast and mild on Sunday for the ride, although it did heat up a bit in the middle of the day and that ice was welcomed!
 
As usual, the Tenterfield Endurance Riders Club put on a fabulous event!  The ride base is a clearing in the Forest maintained by the club and is quite lovely, with heaps of shady trees, long-drop toilets, and hot showers.  And let me tell you folk, I REALLY appreciate the decent toilet paper.... none of that slippery hard crinkly el-cheapo stuff here!!  Well done to all the club members for thinking of even the little details!!
 
And the entertainment during the weekend was pretty special, too.... with Mad March Hares being spotted on track, poetry being spouted at the pre-ride briefing, and competitions for limericks and jokes being held throughout the weekend.... lots of fun!
 
This is not an easy ride.  But it is a very scenic ride, and the difficult parts of the track just make for an even better event.  Splendacrest hosted 2 Japanese riders for this ride, and they both had a great time and just loved being out in the bush, especially commenting on the wildlife and the stars! 
 
Our team had mixed results, but overall a very successful weekend.  Gerard Bou rode Splendacrest Sayirah to 2nd Middleweight placing in 6:29, and gaining Open Horse qualification for this lovely mare along the way!  Congratulations G!  Renae Kuhn rode the lovely Bourhani Albaraq (owned by Hanna Bourdeaux) in his first open ride to place in 9th Middleweight position, accompanying Rod Strahan on his huge gelding Shardell Prince Valiant in his first 80km ride.  They both finished in 7:17.
 
Clio Rauch (our German import) rode Shaah, and she also guided our two Japanese guests around the entire course.  Yoshiko Miyamoto rode the evergreen Pete and totally fell in love with this great horse, but unfortunately vetted out at the end of the ride with a slightly elevated heart rate (it was VERY hot!).  Yoshi will be back to ride with us again however, as she had such a wonderful time and truly loved the whole experience.  Eiji Yoshikawa rode my young gelding Splendacrest Ulysses in his second 80km ride, and also loved the experience, with Ulysses taking care of his rider as if he'd been doing this all his life.  It was great to see the rapport between these two!  Clio placed 5th in the Lightweight division, while Eiji placed 15th in the Middleweight division.
 
We did have one lameness vet-out after the first leg of the ride, with Marcia Burger and Splendacrest Zhateau hitting a rockslide on track and taking some skin off!  But all is well today!  Tarni Kittel rode Zayelle's Showgirl, owned by Bruce Everson of the Tenterfield Club, and found the going a bit tough so withdrew after the first leg of the ride.
 
It was great to catch up with old and new friends, and to see all the success stories happening... congratulations to Steve and Luke for double 40s!! 
 
The Tenterfield Club is also to be congratulated for consistently holding great events, and for providing a totally off-road track for all.... what a change from all the road work that some rides have become.  Our grateful thanks to all involved!!
 
Thanks also to my crew of Shane Hopkins, Steph Tulk, Robert Kuhn and Yuko Crease.... couldn't have done it without you!  And thanks to Jules, Kristan and Angela who fed all the 'at-home' horses too!