EPIC EVENT HEADING TO COLLIE W.A

EPIC EVENT HEADING TO COLLIE W.A                            by Amanda Rayner

Time certainly flies when you are waiting for a Quilty to come around. With the blink of an eye, a year has
vanished and now it is just over six months before the National Championships, the Tom Quilty Gold Cup.
This event will be held from the Collie racecourse from the 18th to the 20th of September.

Our hearts go out to those affected by the Eastern States bushfires and we hope the disruption will not
deter too many riders from travelling over to the West. Three rides to date in N.S.W. have been cancelled
and there may be more due to the unfavourable events related from the fires.

Horses and riders have been rested over the summer. Some riders have been lucky enough to have gone
away on holiday, whilst their horses have been content to lounge around their paddocks eating and
sleeping. By now most horses are legged up, a great gauge of well-being and attitude, before the demands
of the competition season begins. Talking to W.A. riders they tell me the coming Quilty has been a three-
year plan in the making. Two seasons has given the horse time to learn how to use themselves efficiently
and economically with the hope of attaining optimum performance. Tuning to peak fitness for the Quilty
will be the challenge for many without overdoing the training.

The WAERA ride season gets underway in Wilga, an old mill town in the south west, on March 14th. A full
calendar of 17 rides has been planned for 2020 with two 160km events being held before the Quilty. The
first will be at the Collie Quilty venue in early May followed by the State Championships in July at Dryandra
woodland. The Easter Marathon run from the Collie venue will test two new legs for the Quilty designed
by course director Deb Ryan. A survey was conducted following the State Championships last year with
feedback indicating the structure of the legs needed changing to allow for a more flowing ride. These legs
will be trialled at the marathon.

The TQ 2020 committee is running smoothly. Monthly meetings ensure all portfolios are achieving their
goals within the timeline. It’s been of great benefit that Collie has been used as a ride base for many years
giving members the knowledge of tracks and the logistics surrounding the venue.

The sponsorship drive continues with many buckles already sponsored. Rug sponsorship is also proving
very popular. With such a proactive team major sponsors and grants have been secured. Major sponsors
to date include the Bendigo Bank in Collie, South 32 Worsley Alumina, Shire of Collie, Synergy, IRT and
Premier Coal. All the sponsors have been given every opportunity for promotion through social and print
media. Four main street banners have been designed depicting the top four points riders from 2019 along
with sponsor logos. These will go on display from August in Collie’s main street.
A fund-raising raffle will also offer great prizes including a weekend getaway, commissioned artwork, a TQ
2020 firepit and a mega hamper. Every WA member will be given a book of raffle tickets to sell over the
coming months.

The catering committee have an innovative presentation format which will include a sit-down lunch which
will incorporate presentations and formal speeches at this time. Evening entertainment will be a live band
in the main marquee. There is a commercial kitchen on site which will provide meals during the week to be
supplemented by specialty food and coffee vans.

Ride nominations will open three months before the event around the 1st of June with a non-refundable
$100 deposit. Entries will close two weeks before on September 4th. Camping fees are still under
discussion along with ride entry fees.

West Coast Kia modelling the souvenir rug Photo credit Jane Radny

The 2020 Tom Quilty Cup souvenir rug is now on the website for purchase.
Designed by Aricon, the lightweight rug features a stunning blue to navy gradient complete with the TQ
2020 logo and horse artwork to match the polo shirt. Rugs can be purchased by anyone irrespective of
entry or completion. Rugs can be customised free of charge to include the riders name/horse name.
The rug positively glistens in the sunlight, an outstanding way to present your horse in the vet ring or in
fact at any show or competition. Polo shirts and caps are also available. The winter weather merchandise
is still being finalised.

The TQ Facebook site reaches 11000 people each month. It is regularly updated with sponsor thanks and
                                                       other relevant information. To generate interest
                                                       and keep the site active it is updated twice
                                                       weekly. The website is active and the interactive
                                                       map showing travel stops across the Nullarbor
                                                       and East coast proved so popular that it
                                                       exceeded its hit limit! Facebook and the website
                                                       will be the primary means of communicating
                                                       information to competitors and the public.

                                                          WAERA president Anna Erikson and members
                                                          Bruce Ferguson, Abbey Irvine and Christopher
                                                          Haddon promoting the Tom Quilty event at the
                                                          Collie Community Expo. Photo credit Elsje Brandis

Following the success of the promotional stall at the Collie Show, committee members have again been
involved with the Collie Community Expo showcasing and promoting our coming event. Five WAERA
members including one Junior rider attended this Expo on February 8th. Quilty committee member Elsje
Brandis said “we were able to engage local Collie people in conversations of what the TQ is about and the
importance of local volunteers in the success of this national event. Many of those we spoke with thought
they had to have experience with horses to be useful volunteers. On finding that this is not a requirement
and WAERA would be grateful for just 3 or 4 hours of their time, the locals expressed much more interest
and enthusiasm in being involved. They suggested they may even rope in other friends as well ‘’. Abbey
Irvine, local Junior rider, was proactive in spreading the message that ‘’anyone who wants to take up the
sport is able to fulfil dreams from very humble beginnings’’. Positive feedback was encountered from
some of the major sponsors who also manned stalls at this event, making the day an outstanding success.

The 2019 ride season saw several W.A. horses accomplish amazing distance records with three horses
topping the AERA awards. Lightweight rider Tegan Symington rode her homebred stallion Duo Park Royal
Son to Lightweight Distance horse with 1,168 km. “Sonny’’ was 2nd overall with 80 points. In the
Middleweight division Cassie Mulcahy rode Eleazar Sharym to national distance horse with 1,372 km.
Chrissy Popsicle ridden by Shirley O’Donoghue gained 2nd position with 969 km. The points horse was
reversed for these two riders separated by only two points 80 and 78 respectively.

Cassie Mulcahy riding AERA national distance horse for 2019 Eleazar Sharym
Photo credit Vince Evans

W.A. has a gritty bunch of riders with a great passion for the sport. With many quiet achievers, 75 riders
are now qualified to ride in the Quilty and of these some will undoubtably be keenly competitive.
Our riders have the utmost respect and admiration for their horses which have exceptional athleticism,
intuition and intelligence with also that wonderful competitive nature.

Bring on the Quilty!

Stay informed by regular checks at www.tomquilty2020.com and www.facebook/TQ2020.com