Mounted action to help boost travel fund

Northland  fans have a rare chance to see some top-class Mounted Games competition this weekend  when some of the New Zealand team are in action at the Kaikohe Show Grounds.
 Team members Gaarryn Smith and Dee Cherrington from the Okaihau area, are on their way to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in October and  have invited  teammates north to showcase the sport and raise money for their trip.
They will be joined by  local riders who have switched to the sport because of its sheer "adrenaline rush", said  convert Kerry Clotworthy.
"This is a chance for us to show what an awesome discipline this is and to try and get more people involved in the sport up here, it's really good for helping your balance and confidence with your horse because you have to put so much trust in them."
Clotworthy  was introduced to the sport by the current New Zealand team manager Brenda Cross, who invited her to a training session. She won a national pairs title this year  in Hamilton with Waikato rider Steven Hooker.
Hooker and Auckland's Julie Borland are the other Kiwi team  members riding this weekend.
"This weekend is all about showing what fun the sport is, if anyone wants to try the sport they can come along and we'll put them in a team - it's not a full-on competition it's about show-casing the sport," she said.
Smith and Cherrington    went to England last year with the New Zealand team   for the World Mounted Games.  This year they will compete at the much larger and arguably more prestigious Kentucky event.
New Zealand teams have developed a good reputation for punching above their weight at international Mounted Games competitions.  In 2008 they were crowned world champions.
But like most emerging sports in New Zealand - there is a price.
"We have to travel a lot - we put in huge miles to get to competitions," Clotworthy said.
"People have to travel in other [equestrian] sports too but with eventing and showjumping at least there are enough riders to hold  competitions in Northland. For us, there are too few of us up here to hold any kind of competition really, so we have to go south to compete," she said.
 This year, for the first time, the sport  was included at the Hastings Horse of the Year competition.
 Two days of Northland-style games are planned, with a teams event  tomorrow and individual competition on  Sunday. There will also be a  barbecue tomorrow night at the Kaikohe Show Grounds.