Australia: 2011 Barossa Ranges Tom Quilty Gold Cup

April 11 2011

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Barossa Ranges Tom Quilty Gold Cup, which begins at midnight on Friday September 30th 2011 and continue through Saturday October 1st.

The event will provide a challenging event for participants on a new course.  There will be an away check point and riders will experience changing terrain as the course traverses Mt Crawford State forest, vineyards and pastures.  The second and potentially most challenging leg will be through pine forests, then onto private land owned by the Ross family (by kind permission). 

The ride base will be at Mt Pleasant which hosts annually a large agricultural show in addition to many livestock and horse events.  One of the best scenic routes in our State runs through Mount Pleasant linking Adelaide with the Barossa via the rich pastoral lands, forestry and the wine areas of Springton and Eden Valley close to Mt. Pleasant. 

Land was first purchased for forestry at Mount Crawford in 1909. Plantings commenced in 1914; two species of eucalypts (Narrow-leaved Ironbark and South Australian Blue gum) and two species of pine (Radiata and Maritime pine) which creates a fantastic horse riding environment.  The current reserve area is in the region of 12,000 hectares. 

Nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Quilty. Please note you must prenominate a horse and pay the $100 deposit to book a camp site. Camp requests will NOT be accepted without a pre-nomination. You may change horse details later if necessary. Forms need to be downloaded from the website and sent with a cheque made out to SA Tom Quilty Inc to our Treasurer, Sue Arwen, at 6 Amundsen Dve, Ingle Farm, SA

Camp Sites
All enquiries to our Camp Manager Tony Van Eck on 08 85387280 or 0414406580.
Camp forms must accompany your pre nomination form to the Treasurer. If you have a gooseneck and only 1 horse you may need to book 2 sites to have enough room. Extra cars will have to be parked off the showgrounds. Powered sites are limited. If we run out we will let you know in time to arrange a generator.

Entertainment
There will be a bar and drinking area on the ride base, open from 4pm to late,
Wednesday to Sunday. Local solo musicians will play in the evenings. Various food stalls will operate from Wednesday through to Sunday. Wednesday night will see a Quilty Gourmet BBQ available on the ride base.

Final Dinner
Tickets are $40 and may be pre booked. Only 200 seats available for a sit down
dinner and band with bar facilities. Book early for a great night and a chance to relive the ride in comfort.

Trade Stalls
Spaces are filling fast. We have Remlap, Dixon Equestrian, Retract-a-fence, Ken Platt Belts, d-lua park sheepskins and others Ring Jean Sims on 0429781004 for info. Fodder and Firewood Fodder is available from Coopers of Mt Torrens who will do daily deliveries. You may pre order with your nomination form. Fires are allowed in drums only. Wood will be available for purchase at the base.

Dogs
We would prefer you left your pets at home but if not, all dogs MUST be on a leash at all times. Loose dogs will be reported to the Council Animal Control Officer
Rubbish/ Horse Manure Chaff bags will be issued to campers as they arrive. Large clearly marked bins will be available for you to empty your bags into on a daily basis. KESAB bins will be around for recycling cans and bottles. Please make the effort to sort your waste and use the correct bins to dispose of it. This is always a problem area for committees to control but with a little thought and care from campers, it could be easy!

Course
Descriptions and altitude diagrams will be on the website soon. Do plenty of hill
training as Legs 2 and 3 will make your horses work. They are not difficult but they
do require you to pace your horse. Step overs are a part of SA Forests. I suggest you set one up and practise at home if you are concerned. We will have one at the ride base for you to do a refresher course!

Merchandise
Pictures are now on the website. There are 2 delivery dates pre ride and a stall will be open at the Ride Base. Please contact Lainie Ray on 0438846741 with queries.

Volunteers
As with any major events volunteers are the unsung heroes. If you would like to come and help we would love to hear from you. Please ring Jean Sims on 0429781004 any time. We will feed and water you during the event and we promise a great time!

Sponsors
We are desperate for buckle sponsors. For only $300 your name will be engraved on a brass plaque attached to the wooden Quilty Buckle stand. This silver buckle is the goal of every Quilty entrant and only presented to successful completions Major Sponsors for places include Nanango Heritage Riders, Tonimbuk, Castlebar, DixonSmith Equestrian, Rapiti Pty, Arabian Horse Society of Australia and Archer Saddleblankets and Rugs. Please check our website if you would like to join this wonderful group of supporters.

Officials
Chief Steward is Tom McCormack No.2 Chief Steward is Dorte Colja
Head Vet is Dr James Vowles from Murray Bridge.
Head Hospital Vet is Dr Bill Harbison
Camp Manager is Tony Van Eck
Course Director is Rod Warren

For more information see http://www.satomquilty.com.au/

or contact Jean Sims at director@satomquilty.com.au