Contributed
The 57th Tom Quilty Gold Cup and National Championship is the premier event on the sports calendar for endurance horse riding in Australia and the TQ23 organising committee are working towards ensuring it will be a roaring success.
After this years’ Quilty was moved by the sport’s national body from Victoria to the Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex just outside of Imbil, an enthusiastic band of club supporters has been working tirelessly since December last year organising the week of activities.
Club president and TQ23 event director Kim Moir said that, while the club took on organising the event on pretty late notice, the organising team had come together really well and were on track to ensure this year’s Quilty will be a fantastic success.
“The experience gained in organising the 2019 Tom Quilty has been a huge benefit to committee as we have been able to quickly decide on what works and what can be done more effectively,’’ Kim said.
“That has meant the team has been able to plan and organise activities to a very high standard very quickly.
“We are really confident TQ23 will be a fabulous week for everyone involved.”
The club is anticipating about 300 horses and their riders, and another 800 to 1000 support crew, officials and volunteers to descend on the Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex for the week in June.
The competition at Stirling’s involves riders completing a 160km race on horseback through the Imbil State Forest and has attracted much interest from owners of the best horses and most accomplished endurance riders in Australia.
This year’s Quilty is also shaping as a truly international affair with a number of competitors attending from USA, UAE, UK, New Zealand and Japan.
The course has now been agreed and will be a five-leg progression on the dirt roads and fire trails through the Imbil State Forest.
Much of the committee’s focus is now on putting the finishing touches to the infrastructure required at the ride base and activities for such a large influx of competitors and support crew.
The committee has also been working with state and local government, small businesses and community groups to showcase the fabulous Mary Valley region and what it can offer such a large group of visitors.
Two other functions that the club has called out as critical to make TQ23 successful are securing sponsors and sufficient numbers of volunteers to help out during the week in June.
Anybody interested can find more information at tomquilty.com.au or on the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
For a sneak peek at the what the sport is all about, the club will be holding its Stirling’s Classic Endurance Ride the weekend of 28 April to 1 May as a lead-up to the big event in June.
