Competition Report & Photographs
About the Event

I have pleasure in extending a warm welcome to you to the 2000 diana ferrari Australian Dressage Championships.  This event has shown enormous growth over the past few years and this year is no exception, with riders from all states.

For the second time, the National Championships is a CDI-W approved by the FEI and is also a Selection Event for the Australian Dressage Team, a qualifier for the FEI World Cup and the FEI World Dressage Challenge.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to our major sponsor diana ferrari for their ongoing support of this event.  We also welcome Rosemount Estate Wines,  Doncaster Motors BMW and a large number of class sponsors all of whom have been enthusiastic in their support of the championships.  There is no doubt, without the help and generosity of the sponsors, events like this would not be able to be presented in the professional manner we enjoy.

This year also sees a record number of Trade Stands and the Entries show that Dressage is emerging as a strong and healthy sport.

Our International judges this year Mr. Uwe Mechlem (Germany), and Mrs. Linda Zang (USA) will join Australia's Mary Seefried and New Zealand's Kathinka de Monchy and Jan Bird.  This year we also see a great representation of judges, Victorian and interstate, to officiate at the Championships.

I would like to acknowledge the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the Organising Committee in bringing this event to you, and the help from Werribee Park Management Committee to ensure the success of this event.

I wish you all a very enjoyable weekend and look forward to what promises to be a great four days.
Deborah McNicol  -  Event Director.

About The Event - By Berni Saunders.

I remember the first Diana Ferrari competition - held at Glenbrae in Wandin, Victoria in 1990.  Like most people I was very curious about this 'new face' on the dressage scene - Diana Ferrari - was she an FEI rider, who was her trainer, what horse/s does she ride, where does she live ???  You can imagine my response to finding out that she was a shoe!   Since then, diana ferrari has become a very 'friendly' name for dressage enthusiasts, and we all value the support and very hard work that Kate and John Kirkhope put into the sport.  Since those early days the concept has grown, and we are now able to enjoy a competition equal to the best in the world.  I was very taken with Mr. Uwe Mechlem's comments, and would like to share the message with everyone ... he said, "The organisation of this competition was very good, and I was impressed with the number of horses who participated … it was 200 or so, wasn’t it? It was good to see the competition for young riders, because good juniors make good seniors!  There has been a definite improvement.  Last time I saw 2 or 3 good horse and rider combinations at the higher levels. This time I saw 6 or 7 who were above average". 

Kate Kirkhope must have had some credits with 'him upstairs' as you could not have imagined better weather - for the entire 4 days.   Glorious Melbourne Autumn sunshine, no wind, no rain, with clear beautiful evenings (for the 100's of campers).  Everyone that I spoke to, who stayed on the ground marvelled at the efficiency of the venue - always a hot shower, plenty of toilets, lovely stables and really good catering on the grounds - what more could one ask ???

I feel very well qualified to comment about the event as I participated 'wearing quite a few different hats'.

As a competitor, I wore my top hat, and from this perspective the event was wonderful. Just about everything had been thought of. The arenas were in pristine condition, the stabling much better than at any other venue that I have been to, the warm up areas were very adequate (quite a novelty!) and stewards and officials friendly and helpful. It was a real thrill to be part of this event.

As a sponsor, I wore my navy blue straw hat and was really impressed with the very professional way that the much valued sponsors were treated.  We were made to feel 'special' and absolutely nothing was too much trouble.  The organisers went to a great deal of effort to ensure that sponsors would have many mementos of their involvement and a great weekend.  Bill has been wearing his gold medal for days and boasts of his 'gold medal performance' at the Australian Dressage Championships - many of our friends have been mightily impressed.   The Committee should be very proud of the way the sponsorship representatives were briefed to make the sponsors feel like VIP's - it was a job very well done.

As a media representative - Again... the navy straw hat,  sunglasses & SPF15.  In my role of developing the Internet site for this event, and ensuring that results were up there on the www. everyday at the end of the days competition, and then this comprehensive and permanent event report, I had the opportunity to watch many of the tests, talk to the riders, take lots of photos and observe in a little more detail the spectators who were there 'just for fun'.  The standard of horses and riders has improved dramatically over the past few years and to see the best in the country, gathered at this one glorious venue, was indeed a thrill.  I have been enormously gratified by the number of positive comments that I have received about the Cyberhorse - Virtual Equestrian magazine and our Equestrian Results Service, it seems that many competitiors now rely on our imformation to keep up to date with the sport. We hope to continue to improve the service to the Australian equestrian community.

Photo Dolly Van Zaane

Photo Dolly Van Zaane