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Mention the name ‘Garryowen’ to a cross section of Australian equestrians and most of them will know it is a showing class, although many of them might not know the history behind the class. But ask a show rider in Victoria about the Garryowen and they will probably be able to fill you in on all the details, while the girls you speak to will express their life-long desire to win this highly sought-after title.
Back in the late 1920s early 1930s, Garryowen was a horse—a horse who won numerous prizes and titles including many of the big show titles at the Royal Melbourne Show. He was owned and ridden by Violet Murrell, who was considered one of the top show riders of her day. One night in 1934, the stables at Violet’s home in Mentone, Melbourne, went up in flames and in a desperate attempt to save her beloved Garryowen and other animals, Violet ran into the stables.
Tragically, at the age of 29, she died in the fire and in a second tragedy her husband, Bill, who had tried to help his wife, died a few days later from the injuries he sustained. It was a story that touched the hearts of the Melbourne people, whether they had an interest in horses or not, and the story has lived on in the show class that was named after Violet’s horse. Such is the memory of the tragedy that while other horse sports struggle to get a few lines in the papers, the Garryowen is covered every year in all the mainstream Melbourne papers.
Stephanie Barrington, 20, won this year’s Garryowen at only her second attempt and is fully aware of the history, although she can’t recall how or when it was told to her. “I think it is a story that has always been around and you simply learn more about it as you go along. For me, the Garryowen is about the bond and passion we all have for our horses, regardless of what sort of equestrian sport we follow.
The fact that Violet was prepared to sacrifice her own life in an attempt to save her horse really shows what that bond is all about,” explains Stephanie.
Now in its 77th year the Garryowen, a class exclusively open to young ladies over the age of 18, has become the showing class that everybody in the showing field longs to be part of, and to be part of it you must first qualify to ride at the Royal Melbourne Show. Once you have qualified, you can then nominate for the Garryowen class. However, the planning for this class starts months earlier where those riders hopeful of nominating will have spent many hours, days and weeks, planning their ‘costumes’ and checking out suitable equipment for their horse. “Our house was turned upside down with Garryowen gear for quite a few months, but I’m so lucky that my parents are fully supportive of what I do and they don’t seem to mind that everything revolves around horses.”
As Stephanie starts to explain what is involved in dressing the horse and rider for the Garryowen, I can’t help but think it is all very traditional English hunting gear, simply what you would have expected to see any well-dressed rider wearing in years gone by and sometimes still today. “Essentially that is exactly right,” agrees Stephanie, “but because we are sticking to the traditional costume it’s not the sort of thing you can go and buy off the shelf. We spent hours scouring the internet, following up different sources to find the best costume and equipment we possibly could.”
From a rider’s point of view, woollen breeches (no Lycra in sight) are worn with three buttons above the boots showing on the breeches and the garter strap of the boots sitting between the second and third button. The well-polished boots, complete with spurs, have to sit just below the knee. “A friend of mine polished my boots for me. Her dad was in the army so she learnt how to use the ‘spit and polish’ technique and spent an hour on each boot until they were gleaming.”
The white shirt must have cufflinks (Stephanie wore her grandfather’s) and then there is the checked waistcoat and the traditional black woollen jacket. “My jacket belonged to the late Karen Chipperfield. I have been a close part of Karen’s mother’s family for a while now, so to wear her jacket and win was pretty special for all of us. We didn’t even have to alter it, it fitted like a glove.”
Then there is the white stock, which must be tied to perfection. “We had three stocks ready to go just in case one of them wasn’t quite right on the day. Mum had put in hours practising how to tie my stock and she made a perfect job of it.”
Hair has to be put up, hairnets worn and jewellery of any sort is out of the question while the only move away from tradition is the wearing of a velvet safety hat. To complete the outfit, traditional gloves with pearl buttons are a must. “It took me about two hours to get dressed,” Stephanie admitted, adding, “it’s really important to get everything just right.”
It is of equal importance for the horse to be ‘correctly dressed’ and, like the rider’s outfit, the horse’s tack reminds me of how you would expect to see a well turned out horse on the hunting fields of England.
“Everything has to match. The bridle, saddle, saddlecloth, stirrup leathers and girth and all the buckles on the bridle and the girth should be on the middle holes. We packed four girths, which were slightly different sizes, just in case LA lost weight during the show. We ended up using the second biggest girth, which was perfect. My saddle was bought from Pam Ahern and had originally belonged to Vicki Lawrie, so it had already won numerous Garryowens, and it was the most wonderful saddle to ride in. But because the saddle was older than my stirrup leathers, I had to spend a lot of time working on the leathers to get them the same colour as the saddle. You ride in a double bridle with a plain cavesson noseband and plain browband. All the silverwear, like the stirrups, bits and spurs were sent to a polisher so they looked amazing.”
With all the gear in place, the day of the Garryowen arrives and Stephanie, whose time in the ring is scheduled for 10am, is on the go early, ridiculously early.
“I got up at 1.30am (yes, I did a double check, she did say 1.30am) so I have enough time to ‘work my horsedown’.” I understand the principal of warming a horse up so I asked if this is the show rider’s equivalent. “No not really,” answers Stephanie laughing, “it’s more about tiring your horse out so he will perform well in the ring. I lunged him for about two hours in the Melbourne rain and then I rode him for 20 minutes on the grass area where we would do our work out later that morning.”
After all the preparation and work, it is Stephanie’s turn to shine. The six judges all judge their separate categories; manners and paces, conformation and soundness, costume, saddlery, riding ability and general appearance of the
horse and rider. The movements of the workout, which have been known by the riders for a couple of weeks, are executed and Stephanie is proud of her two changes, one through walk the other a flying change. Then it is time to wait … and wait.
“Finally, we were all called in and when the announcement came I was so excited. Such a lot of people have helped me to reach this goal and I couldn’t have done it without them. My horse, LA, is just the most beautiful horse and I love him to death. He will always be a part of our family.”
It seems that the Garryowen will be here for years to come and Stephanie hopes winning the title at such a young age, and on only her second attempt, will inspire other young girls to follow in her footsteps. “The whole thing is a wonderful experience, from the Garryowen breakfast to the cocktail party, let alone the class itself. Long may it continue.”
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