Bowral Dressage Club is based at the picturesque Bong Bong Racecourse. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
From brilliant tulip gardens to award-winning restaurants, cool-climate wineries and boutique shops, Bowral is the embodiment of Southern Highlands charm, only 90 minutes south of Sydney. Of course, it is also famous as cricket legend Donald Bradman’s hometown, the Bong Bong picnic races… and now its dressage championships.
Bowral is a very beautiful, cool-climate area with stunning vistas and wonderful properties, and many boutique thoroughbred studs. It’s an area that lends itself to gorgeous dressage barns. It has a great community of dressage-minded people who envisage the grounds they are establishing at the Bong Bong Racecourse to become state-of-the-art and to make it one of the best in NSW.
I was lucky enough to be invited to attend this year’s Bowral Dressage Championships, and I have to say it was not only a privilege, but insightful as to the charming committee who are on a passionate mission to make the grounds and competitions become the best they can be. The surrounds are nothing short of spectacular with rolling fields and wonderful trees and cattle relaxed in paddocks flanking the grounds. The vista is truly charismatic and very open and free.
The Bowral Dressage Championships had a fun and positive vibe. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
It is an area that attracts dressage riders who are innovative, forthright and upfront to take in the sport in a way history has wanted. Regal, harmonious, empathetic and majestic. To achieve this, facilities, arena surfaces and amenities need to be put in place so as riders, coaches and owners can simply focus on their unspoiled performances with their horses. The Bowral Dressage Committee are doing just this with the realisation that the sport is being somewhat pushed out of the Sydney area as disputes over grounds and the like are seeing clubs and facilities closing.
What more beautiful area close to Sydney and easy access being on the Hume highway?
The venue boasts five arenas, with Arenas 1 and 2 recently resurfaced with a waxed Martin Collins surface that is internationally comparable. Arenas 3, 4 and 5 are now in the pipeline to be resurfaced as well. These arenas are all sponsored and what amazing names… the Sue Hearn Arena, after the Olympian who lives in the area; the Franz Mairinger Arena, an icon in Aussie dressage from its meagre beginning; the Springett Arena, named after Yvonne Springett, who secured the all-important Bong Bong facility lease; and the Centennial Wines Arena, sponsored by its director Mark Dowling, a competitor and generous sponsor. There has also been the recent addition of a 40×60 warm-up arena, sponsored by the Weel family, again with a Martin Collins surface. The club has also secured a $1.1 million grant to build a clubhouse, and what a build this will be and about to begin.
There is an air of positivity as soon as you arrive for the championships. A wonderful VIP tent has amazing native flower arrangements adorning tables set on the hill overlooking the competition. Waiters that made everyone feel special from the get-go until the last drinks. Wonderful food platters and grazing boxes for lunch, coffee and exceptional wines from Centennial. There was also a plentiful trade fair with the Tipsy Turtle van, with coffee and cocktails adding to the atmosphere and extra celebration at the presentations.
A cocktail party on the first evening was a great introduction to the competition, with a riders’ dinner on the second night, sponsored by Briars Inn, originally an 1845 inn recently turned into an upmarket gastro pub, and yet another great dressage supporter in the area. It was classy as dressage lends itself to be. Bowral does it well!
Matthew Dowsley was the Medium Champion at the recent Bowral Dressage Championships. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
A CLUB IS BORN
On 11 August 1983, a meeting in the home of Carolyn and John Hoerning led to the formation of the Bowral Dressage Club with Margaret O’Brien being president and Patricia Boyle vice-president. The club started off having training days every second Sunday of the month at the Pony Club grounds in nearby Burradoo. In December 1983, their first instruction/clinic day was held at the Olympic Centre in Bowral, courtesy of Margaret Beggs who owned this complex. Margaret was well known for showing hacks and being very good friends with Vince Corvi. The instructor for that day was Detlef Schmidt, a German rider who lived in Bowral.
At the club’s AGM in 1985, Erna Mairinger, widow of Franz Mairinger, graciously accepted an invitation to become club patron. Patricia Boyle became president and Neil Arnold vice-president. Their first official day was in April 1986 with just the Novice 2.4 being official. The club was moving ahead, and the competitions were organised sitting around Patricia’s kitchen table.
The club became incorporated in 1988 and at this stage held the Southern Highlands Dressage Championships at Moss Vale. The enthusiasm amongst the club members was to have a two-day official championship competition as good as any in NSW, and this came to fruition in February 1996 at the first Franz Mairinger Memorial Championships. The late Franz Mairinger, who had lived in the area, was from the Spanish Riding School and coached the Australian eventing team to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960.
The championships went onto greater heights, even as the club floundered, and at one point relied on the generosity of Tim and Jenny Court to stage the competition on their beautiful property at Sutton Forrest.
In 2004, Mim Poolman, being a recent new resident to Bowral who had spent her former years with her husband (FEI vet Grant Poolman) in Wagga organising many competitions, had no real intentions of joining a committee again. But as the club looked like folding and going into recession due to many reasons, she felt an inner obligation to step in and became president. It was at this time that Yvonne Springett had taken it on to organise a lease from Bong Bong Racecourse where picnic races were held. It was on a beautiful plot of land albeit with a mountain in the middle, so there was a lot of earthworks required to turn this into a feasible dressage competition area. The lease was organised and many people came to the party, including Mark Dowling from Centennial Wines who provided a lot of help with the earthworks as there was a lot of earth to be moved; the area included the side of a mountain and a lot of swampy grounds!
Dave Mckinnon and son Archie enjoying some time out at the Bowral Dressage Championships. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
COCKTAILS & ELVIS PRESLEY
The committee had organised fundraising ventures such as a ball and a cocktail party, and an Elvis Presley night at Centennial Vineyards, and some money started to eventuate. Along with this came a positive feeling in the community that this was a very worthy project for the future of the young riders and the sport and very much in keeping with the feeling of Bowral.
Mim had always been of the belief that without a home ground it was pointless putting money into these situations, but now with Yvonne Springett organising the lease and with people like Mark Dowling and the like putting money into the infrastructure, it started to go ahead and the feeling of positivity brought the district together.
The first initiative was to make three sand arenas, which has now expanded to five plus a warm up arena, and as mentioned earlier, these arenas are now featuring a Martin Collins waxed surface – or plan to be so in the near future.
“The positivity with this
club started to snowball
and encouraged many
others to come on board…”
The new warm up arena. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
The positivity with this club started to snowball and encouraged many others to come on board. Another two arenas were built with a huge amount of fuel and earthworks from the other side of the mountain, but still the piece of ground is a beautiful site. It’s very central, a great location and is really gaining momentum amongst riders and all those involved in the sport as a great upcoming facility.
There had been many attempts to get grants, but none had really come to fruition. Now with Fiona David as president, many hours were spent searching and a grant for women involved in sport was found and seem to fit the bill. With her amazing input and adventurous attitude, the club secured this grant for $1.1 million and as a consequence a wonderful clubhouse can now be built. Along with this grant, as mentioned the Bowral community has rallied with financial support and a new all-weather warm-up arena has established.
As the saying goes, a rolling stone gathers no moss, and so it is with the Bowral community that in their minds being part of this fabulous project to soon be able to sit in a clubhouse and watch top class dressage will really be a thrill for them for the amount of work effort and money they’ve put into this sport and facility.
With so many other clubs finding it difficult to continue, Bowral seems to be going from strength to strength. It’s an absolute compliment to all those who served on committees and continue to serve on the Bowral committee with such positivity and foresight. The success of this club isn’t necessarily about the members, although they all chip in and help; it is more about the wider community and the wonderful feeling of community and helping grow a sport that has history behind it as do so many things in Bowral. With so many clubs closing down due to lack of interest and funding, it is with great pride that the Bowral community can see this facility gathering momentum.
42 CHAMPIONS AT THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Bowral Dressage Championships for 2025, sponsored by Mae Hill Farm, saw some very big classes with many, many champions. In fact, 42 champions were awarded. It was nice to see that there were also champions for the Bowral dressage members, as well as Thoroughbred Sports Horse Association champions. The championships accommodated all type sizes and ages! It is amazing to think so many champions and so many rosettes and rugs can be handed out at such a competition.
Denise Rogan and Greco. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
Of course, every champion at every level deserves recognition but just to name a few of the outstanding percentages and performances one would have to say that Matthew Dowsley and TS Firestorm, owned by Cheryl Smith, certainly shone. Matthew is a local and an internationally recognised athlete who has represented Australia at World Equestrian Games and many times a national champion at all levels to Grand Prix. Matthew won both the Prix St Georges and Inter I and was named Small Tour Champion (Open). He and his partner, Rodney Martin, also have a lot of input into the sponsorship and supporting the competitions.
Lisa Janke won the Advanced Championship (Open) with Bluefields Dankeschoen OLD, imported for the local Bluefields Stud, an Oldenburg stallion of great talent winning both tests. The imported horse Loverboy ridden by Megan Kier was Elementary Champion (Open) in a very strong and classy field. An extravagant mover with plenty of pizzazz and one to watch out for in the future, with huge elasticity and pieces. Megan is a super elegant and inspiring rider who has such a fun and unassuming demeanour and exudes presence.
Of course, where everyone aspires to be is in the Big Tour. The champion here was Wealth ridden by Pamela Bice, a very elegant brown horse. Reserve went to Mary Nitschke on Astronomical. The other outstanding horse in this class all the same was Bradgate Park Amadeus for Sharon Potter. This brilliant bay horse won easily the Inter II and was going super well in the Grand Prix until two mistakes created elimination for Sharon. It was her first Grand Prix on this horse and only her second Grand Prix in her life. She was overwhelmed with her performance and the judges allowed her to finish. A sporting gesture from a super judging panel. Amadeus will be a horse worth watching in the future with super piaffe and passage and expressive paces and so well ridden by Sharon. John and Sharon Potter are sponsors of the club and always support the competitions.
Sharon and John Potter with Bradgate Park Amadeus. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
YOUNG RIDERS SHINE
Abby Weel and Reitlands Obama were outstanding in the Advanced Junior/Young Rider division being a champion with two big wins in both these classes. What a positive and talented ride and what a pony! This combination also was sashed Medium Junior/Young Rider Champion, winning both the Medium tests again.
Another rider worth mentioning here is Millicent Fletcher and the beautiful liver chestnut Amsterdam who was runner-up in this division. Just a heads up to watch this space. Truly a wonderful harmonious match combined with innate talent! These junior riders were totally outstanding and their ability to ride with empathy and feel was quite amazing for children of their age. It just goes to show the aptitude we have in the lower ranks coming up towards international competition and there is no question that the standard has become so high due to the interest in these young riders, the facilities available to them to ride, the training available, and the breeding of horses. Really, this is all available in the Bowral area!
“The enthusiasm that can
be created in a semi-rural area
such as Bowral is contagious…”
Millie Fletcher and Amsterdam, who has since gone on to have great success at the recent Sydney CDI. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
The Bowral Dressage Club has a very talented young rider team who volunteer at each competition as well as compete. The club provides them with team gear to promote their involvement as Bowral Dressage. This initiative inspires a feeling of worth and involvement and to produce healthy competition.
The entire competition was full of enthusiasm. Knowing the background of this club it is no wonder this enthusiasm has infiltrated. The generosity of the committee and all those who work tirelessly to make everyone feel at ease was seriously evident. The competitors were very well looked after and all had a fabulous time, whether winning or finishing further down the field, their feeling of being acknowledged was truly accepted. The VIP visitors were spoilt!
It is obvious that the work and enthusiasm that can be created in a semi-rural area such as Bowral is contagious. Knowing the background to this club and the people involved, it is no wonder that this rolling stone gathers no moss! It takes time to produce good championships. It takes friendly and passionate people to make good championships. It takes good riding, good riders and good training to compete at these competitions to raise the standard. Everybody wants to go to a great facility, in a friendly environment, a place where judging is top class and positive, and everyone has an opportunity on good surfaces to produce the best test they can. Seriously competitive on the inside and wonderfully friendly on the outside.
What better place than Bowral Dressage Club close to Sydney, close to a country environment, with a fabulous atmosphere and facilities that are always on the improve, a committee that looks after riders and realises their needs, and the effort that is put in to come to such a venue. The feeling about the club is exceedingly positive. It appears that it’s onwards and upwards for this club. Keep an eye out for competitions there as it is truly worth a visit to see not only a beautiful area, but one that also encourages and has fabulous riders, horses, coaches and a sport that is worth watching with empathy, passion and a dash of great wine and food included. EQ
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