30th anniversary 2012: How things have changed 1982–2012

The ride date

The time of year in which the ride has been held has also changed several times. This year's ride, in late October, is close to the original date of mid-November.

In 1992 ACTERA decided to change to an autumn date, and from 1993 to 1997 the ride was held in March. In 1998 the ride was postponed to November. That timing was retained but the date progressively dropped back to October then September. An early spring date had the advantage of being before the worst of the fire season and also had the bonus of allowing us to enjoy the display of daffodils at the Sherwood homestead site beside the course, but the proximity of the ride date to the Shahzada and sometimes to the Quilty was problematic and September at Brookvale was also apparently considered too cold, so in 2012 the ride returns to late spring.

There have been three years in which the ride was not held: 1992 (changeover to new date and course); 2003 (aftermath of the bushfires); and 2007 (equine influenza). In two other years it had to be rescheduled, from March to November 1998 due to drought and from November to December 2000 due to heavy rain.

In recent years the ride has been moved to Canberra on some occasions, rather than be cancelled due to conditions affecting the traditional course or base. It was moved to Equestrian Park in 2006 due to drought, and as a mark of respect following Allan Blundell's death in 2008 ACTERA decided to run the ride from Equestrian Park again that year. The ride returned to Brookvale in 2009 despite drought conditions that resulted in the creek being dry only a few weeks before the ride. We hired a water tanker but enough rain fell to make the creek run again by the time the ride was held. Inundation of the campsite necessitated a last-minute move to Kambah Pony Club in 2010. The ride has, however, been held at its original base on 23 occasions since 1982 and it is scheduled to be held there again this year.

By Melanie O'Flynn

Acknowledgements | Ride base | The course | The ride date | Riding times, entries and completion rates | The vets | The horses | Equipment | The buckle | Riding rules | Training and social rides | Costs and charges | Technology and communication | Some things have not changed | Photo gallery of past 30 years

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