Showmen's Guild celebrates centenary this year

Did the razzle dazzle, the chairoplane or the horseplane put the wind in your hair?

The Showmen's Guild of Australasia is this year celebrating its centenary and the rides have certainly changed with the times.
President George Pink of the "trade association for showmen" has been involved in the industry for 64 years and can remember some of the earliest rides dating back to the early 1940's.
"I can remember the last horse and wagon on the showground so there's been some big changes," he said.
"My grandfather had a very large merry-go-round for the early days, of last century and early this century, and he had a ride called a razzle dazzle and you pushed it around and it used to rock."
That was the biggest ride on the showground until the chairoplane made its appearance.
"It had the tractor chairs on the end and it used to swing out, it had about 35 to 36 tractor chairs on it."
"Of course now we've got all the modern equipment run by computers; they tip you upside down, turn you inside out, spit you out and put you back on the ground again. "Click here to read the full story

Andrew Hoy serious about Olympic Games record

RACEHORSE trainer David Hayes is among a cast of experts consulted by Australia's record-chasing Olympian Andrew Hoy on ways to help his horse beat the heat at the Games competition in Hong Kong.

Hoy, a triple Olympic gold medallist, is closing in on an Australian record seventh team selection if he is picked in July.

And he says the secret of his longevity is his "attention to detail" and the quality of the people he has assisting his and wife Bettina's equestrian business.

Hoy, Winter Olympian Colin Coates and sailing's Colin Beashel are the only Australians to have been to six Olympics.

Many in the Australian Olympic movement believe he should have already been to seven Games. Hoy was selected to go to Moscow in 1980, but his sport chose not to send a team because of pressure from the Fraser Government to boycott.

Olympics veterinary services officer Chris Riggs last year said that temperatures of more than 30C in Hong Kong in August meant Olympic equestrian events could be postponed, cancelled or modified if required.

The equestrian events will be in Hong Kong due to quarantine issues on the Chinese mainland.

Hoy's attention to detail has led him to attend the Olympic test event at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club's Sha-Tin course, to inspect the stables and facilities.

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Equestian stalwart Wayne Roycroft sweats on equine break

EQUESTRIAN stalwart Wayne Roycroft is eagerly awaiting this week's outcome of the inquiry into the equine influenza outbreak, which has hampered preparations for the Olympics.

Former High Court judge Ian Callinan will deliver his findings later this week into what caused the equine influenza outbreak in eastern Australia last August.
His findings may pave the way for some equestrians to seek compensation for financial loss suffered as the sport was brought to a standstill.Read the full story

Horse flu inquiry to reveal source

GREATER accountability and responsibility could be demanded from the nation's quarantine watchdog when retired High Court judge Ian Callinan this week hands down his findings on last year's outbreak of equine influenza.

After six months of public hearings, Mr Callinan's equine influenza inquiry -- established last year by the Howard government to investigate the outbreak of the virus -- will deliver its findings this Friday.Click here to read the full story

WWII horsemen step up for fallen mates

SEVEN World War II veterans will attend the dedication of the Park of the Australian Soldier at Beersheba in Israel next week - the site of a famous World War I battle involving Australian Light Horse regiments.

The World War II veterans, in their 80s, will attend as there are no surviving light horsemen from War World I.
The centrepiece of the Israel park is a sculpture of a light horseman leaping the trenches, designed by the Australian sculptor Peter Corlett.
It marks the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments against Turkish posts at Beersheba on October 31, 1917.
It will be dedicated by the Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, and the President of Israel, Shimon Peres. Alan Griffin, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, will also attend.
Dale Robertson, now 86, is one of the seven World War II veterans to attend the service in Beersheba. He served in Papua New Guinea and Bougainville for 12 months, beginning in 1944.
"I'm very, very honoured," he said. "Light Horsemen were all very close companions, [who] respected one another for their horsemanship and their abilities." Mr Robertson said they were mostly from the country and all had a very good sense of humour.
Mr Robertson enlisted in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in 1940. It was the oldest regiment in Australia, Mr Robertson said, having begun as the Moreton regiment.
"They are men you must admire for their courage … we will never see [light horsemen from World War I] again in Australia," he said.
Mr Robertson has been a director of the Light Horse Association for 15 years. He says it is important for the Government to continue to recognise their unique contribution to Australia's war effort and that light horsemen should be allowed to march on Anzac Day like in other states. The party travelling to Israel will also attend an Anzac Day Dawn Service at Mt Scopus War Cemetery in Jerusalem.

Jinx hits top rider yet again

SHANE ROSE is steeling himself for Melbourne in June, vowing to remain positive after his star horse All Luck was disqualified from a major Olympic selection event in Sydney yesterday.

Rose has suffered more setbacks than most.
He was selected for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but his horse was injured while the team was acclimatising in the United States about two weeks before the Games began.
Rose was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2001, battled for his life after a horse kicked him in the face in 2005 and was suspended for one month last August when the drug Pentobarbital was detected in his horse's system.
Yesterday, the 34-year-old from Camden was dealt another blow with All Luck failing the trot up at the Bates Sydney International Three Day Event, after finishing first in the cross country yesterday, and dressage on Friday.
After All Luck's disqualification, straight-talking Albany farmer Sonja Johnson won on Ringwould Jaguar, admitting her victory was less thrilling after Rose's misfortune.
"That's a prick of a thing. It's lovely to win but it takes a little bit of the gloss off it when this happens," she told reporters.
"It's a shame because Shane's horse was going fabulously. We need our best horses and riders of that calibre up there available for selection."
Rose must now compete at the Melbourne International Three Day Event at Werribee Park from June 6-9 if he is to have a chance at selection.
He said All Luck trod on his front left foot with his back foot and had a small cut.
"It sort of got me a bit by surprise because he has been pretty good and it shocked me a little when I went up and trotted," Rose said.

Set back for Rose after All Luck out

Equestrian Shane Rose has suffered a set back in his bid to make the Olympic eventing team, with star horse All Luck being ruled out of a major selection event in Sydney.

The 34-year-old, who is based in Camden in NSW, was in the box seat to take out the Bates Sydney International Three Day Event after finishing top of the table in the cross country on Saturday, and dressage on Friday.
However All Luck failed trot-up in front of the ground jury, who were assessing whether each horse was fit before Sunday's show jumping.
After All Luck was examined by a vet, ground jury president Cara Whitham told Rose All Luck would not be allowed to continue.
Upon hearing the news, Rose doubled over, put his hands on his knees and hit his head with his whip.
He then left the main arena with team officials.
Rose must now compete on All Luck in the Melbourne International Three Day Event in June to have a chance at going to Hong Kong.
It the latest in a series of set backs for Rose, whose horses contracted equine influenza last year and were given the all clear in October.
In 2005, Rose was in an induced coma for a week and in intensive care for three weeks after being kicked in the face by a horse.
Rose had to have his face reconstructed after the accident.
He underwent radiation therapy for around three years after he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2001.
Rose was selected for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but his horse was injured while the team was acclimatising in the United States about two weeks before the Games began.
All Luck's disqualification means Sonja Johnson, riding Ringwould Jaguar, goes into the lead, ahead of Megan Jones, riding Kirby Park Irish Jester and Wendy Schaeffer, with her horse Koyuna Sun Shine.
Rose said All Luck had trodden on his front left foot with his back foot and had a small cut.