Right: Jess Mills and Riverside are the 6 Bar specialists but they are also consistent placegetters in competitions at the shows. Unfortunately for Jess, due to work commitments she missed out on being a team member when the English recently visited our shores and so she would be hoping for the winning points at the end of this four round series. Jess has always been a quite achiever - never blows her own trumpet and has put up with many difficult times but quietly continued to compete and place and work her way
up the rankings - Jess has a few years left in Young Riders and I would like to hope that we will see her on teams in the not too distant future - and perhaps sometimes selectors need to make allowances for those kids who are in "outside employment" when making selection rules - many of these Young Riders don't have the advantage of parents who will or can support their horse habits and so they leave school early and work long, hard hours to be able to afford to compete their horses - these kids are often the very talented ones who slip away because they simply cannot fund both competition and squad life - perhaps this is something which can be looked at in future selections.
Left: Kirby Manley is another new face to me - it was one of the things I enjoyed at Treehaven today - meeting so many people new to the sport - who have come in perhaps for a coffee and stayed on to watch what was happening at Treehaven - many then came back to compete while others came back to train with Laurie and then there are those who have come back to purchase quality and well produced horses from Lever Equine - the warmth and ambiance is the entry to a business built on knowledge, decency and professionalism.
Right: Jess Cook is one rider who rides for the sheer pleasure and that is so nice to see - Lorax is a super horse who is happy to help out when necessary and Jess has a ball whenever she is out on course - always smiling - and so nice to see!
Left:Dave Lever in his last Young Rider competition as he now joins the ranks of the "grown ups" having turned 21 during the year - here he is seen with the chestnut thoroughbred Indurain who has a little attitude but also has the jump to match and
isn't it always the case that the good ones have that little "something" which distinguishes them from the ordinary horse - they are not always the easiest horses at the beginning of their careers but generally they settle and become easier to ride and develop even more "stable quirks" - I see this horse as a future Grand Prix horse - he has the attitude and the ability and with Dave producing him I have no doubt this horse will go on to good things.
Right: Local lad, Michael Webster seen here riding the mare HumDala who has so much of everything going for her and no doubt Michael will do well on this mare as they develop an understanding of each other. Michael will be starting his year well with the inclusion on the New Zealand tour in March 2004 - these tours are a wonderful learning experience for the riders for so many reasons - many of the riders have never been on a plane much less flown to another country requiring passports etc. Then there is the experience of competing on borrowed horses

and most importantly working as a team - something which our riders at both Senior and Young Rider levels don't get enough of. The riders will learn how to work together regardless of whether they are best mates who "share a pint socially" or not and this is a very important part of the whole "team experience".

I would also love to see the utilisation of people like our National Coach, Jamie Coman as the traveling Coach for at least one of these teams and what about Stephen Lamb taking on the role of Chef d'equip - after all we have no Olympic Team so perhaps we could use this time to build the experience and learning of our Young Riders so that when it is their turn to step of for Olympic and World Championship selection they will understand the process so much better than perhaps their predecessors did.

Left: Ben Conway and Lynn Halliwell's McNabb are going to be a great combination and already they are getting to know each other well.
Left: Cassie White is another member of the touring teams who will be heading to New Zealand in March 2004 - Cassie is another of the "quiet
achievers" and she is now going into her last year as a Young Rider and will no doubt see her year out in style. Cassie's mum, Annie is another of those wonderful people who has always been on hand to help and do any jobs necessary and she would be another great person to perhaps train up as a future Chef d'equip for these touring teams as she has a great understanding of the sport of showjumping and also has a great rapport with the riders themselves.
Left: Angus Williams gained the title of "scarface" after a nasty tumble in the practice arena which saw him put his teeth firmly through his lip with copious amounts of blood flowing freely - but in true Aussie style he had a bandaid stuck over the mess and continued to ride all day gathering his ribbons and prize money in each and every class. I would have no doubt that he had a very big "fat lip" when he woke up on Monday morning.
Right: The lineup for the jumpingaround.com/Treehaven Young Rider Challenge is headed up by Angus Williams with Dave Lever in 2nd place, Matt Williams, courtesy of Brad Bradford's loan of a horse, took 3rd place with Emily Harman and Thorough Going in 4th spot - Jess Mills was absent from the lineup as she had work commitments but she and Riverside took 5th position.

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