Well Good Friday lived up to its name in Mount Gambier today - after monstrous and completely unseasonal heat today was a very pleasant day, with a light breeze keeping temepratures in the low 20's which is perfect for jumping.

After the disaster of EI this is one of the first "big" shows for Australian showjumping and plenty have turned up to the Blue Lakes Velodrome in the picturesque Sth Austraian town of Mount Gambier, one of the best fictures on the Australian showjumping calender!

With plenty of parking for trucks of all sizes and a huge amount of space to build yards, the great shower and toilet facilities and onsite meals available at reasonable prices this makes for a great family Easter.

As always the program starts on Friday morning with training rounds which gives the horses an opportunity to have a look at the jumps and the velodrome itself - and course designer John Wilsher always makes sure the water jump is there for the horses to get used to without any pressure!

The training rounds are then followed by the 1.05m Welcome Stakes which saw a massive 110plus entries, followed by the 1.20m Welcome Stakes which saw close to 50 entries which was a great opener to the weekend of jumping.

Now the day started with the sounds of Wes Joyce (from Korrumburra, Victoria) laughing - now anyone who has not heard this laugh only needs to imagine a foghorn in the dead of night to have a rough idea of the volume and sound - and Wes found something to tickle his fancy early in the morning - but neither he nor Mortlake man Morris Clarke couls stop laughing long enough to tell anyone what set them off.............................but we know it had something to do with a watering can and old age!