October 15, 2009
Regional riders and some of the best horse people from the Hunter, north-west and New England areas, are involved in the inaugural National Equine and Livestock Exhibition underway over the next four days in Tamworth.
NELE kicked off this morning in the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre with Olympic riders heading the huge stampede of equine competitors into the city.
The four-day spectacular is bringing horse sports, theatre and expo excitement to regional audiences and the horse industry – with regional competitors from Quirindi, Muswellbrook, Wee Waa, Gunnedah, Denman, the Hunter Valley, New England and central west areas – and as far afield as southern Queensland and southern NSW.
NELE is a bright new star on the Australian equine calendar with a unique blend of competition, entertainment, education, expo and exhibition.
It includes Olympic riders, national champs, state winners and regional riders in a score of horse sports from tentpegging to dressage, showjumping, whipcracking and campdraft.
Some of the country’s best riders and most talented equine acts are among a cast of hundreds who will be involved in a showcase that features three national horse titles, a state championship, trade stands, and newly created horse events. At least six Olympic or World Cup equestrians are involved.
Tickets are on sale online at www.aelec.com.au and at Tourism Tamworth.
AELEC manager Mike Rowland said the four day program has a wide range of horse show activities from 8.30am each day, with two evening theatrical performances Friday and Saturday.
NELE will see the Australian Miniature Horse Association national show, the inaugural Australian Hunter Horse national show with a full hunter, hack and breed program, the Australian women’s extreme trick riding titles, the NELE Freestyle Dressage championships, the NSW Tent Pegging titles and the NELE Showjumping Championships.
The program includes clinics and education sessions, breed village, Australian launch of the extreme new sport Horse Ball, a farmyard nursery and amusement rides, and over 40 trade stands. The night shows include productions of the Electric Horseman, a Man From Snowy River segment, horse stunts and trick riding, dressage and showjumping.
According to AELEC, the lineup for the traders at NELE is as interesting a collection of commercial and company products as ever seen regionally and ranges from the therapeutic to the fashionable and from flooring to the floral.
There’s hydroponics, emu oils and other restoratives, new non-drug therapeutic products for elite athletes and animals, biodegradable beddings that can go from the stable to the garden, mini-tractors for small farm acreage use and vacuums for gardens and paddocks. And there’s jewellery and clothing trade sites, bees and honey products, rugs and portable rooms that double for garages or stables and even fodder making machines.