Hazel Shannon at the 2017 Oceania Championships Dressage Practice.
This year’s Oceania Championships that were planned to run along side the Melbourne International 3DE in June have been cancelled.
In a statement, Equestrian Australia said: “It is with great disappointment and following close consultation with our counterparts at Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ), that we announce the Oceania Championships will not take place this year.
The Oceania Championships 2021 were scheduled to run in conjunction with Melbourne International 3 Day Event in June. However, despite careful planning and the recent introduction of the travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, there is still significant uncertainty regarding Covid-19, which makes staging the campaign untenable at this time.
“It is most certainly not the outcome either team was wanting,” says Equestrian Australia High Performance Pathways Manager, Will Enzinger.
“We really value the Oceania Championships and what it brings to both countries. It allows competitors to experience Championship level competition in the Southern Hemisphere and is an important component in the development of our athletes”.
The EA High Performance Program (HP) shares in the disappointment of all potential team hopefuls and their supporters from both nations. The friendly biennial competition has served as an introduction to the international stage for many of our most successful riders and both HP and ESNZ are dedicated to continuing this legacy.
We remain committed to hosting a world-class Oceania Championships for all competitors.”
About the Oceania Championships
Originally known as Trans-Tasman the event began in 1985 in Gawler, South Australia and was designed to give riders from both Australia and New Zealand an opportunity to experience the event prior to the following year’s Eventing World Championships. The idea was so successful it was agreed the event would take place every two years with each country alternating as host. The biennial nature of the event was designed to work in with the years between the Olympic Games and the World Equestrian Games. In 2014 the name changed from Trans-Tasman to Oceania to align with the formation of the Oceania Equestrian Federation.
Source: Equestrian Australia press release
