Wagga students Ryleigh O'Hare and Chloe Mannell and Tumut's Catelin Crawford have all shared in an historic showjumping win at Sydney's Royal Easter Show.
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The Riverina trio and Canowindra's Jackson Reeves represented 'Area 5' which took out the Inter-Area Pony Club Teams Showjumping event for the first time in 16 years.
After finishing runners-up last year, it took a thrilling finale to break through after scores were tied following the event's two rounds. But O'Hare narrowly prevailed in a jump-off with a quicker time than her rival to give Area 5 its first win since 2003.
"It was very exciting because a lot of work goes into getting these teams up there," Area 5 president Vicki Whyman said.
"I knew we had a strong team because a couple of the riders had been there before. Chloe, this was her fourth year competing in the team and Ryleigh's second.
"The others were in their first year but they're all very accomplished riders. Chloe and Ryleigh had already been to the show for the juniors (separate to pony club), which is quite a big competition."
O'Hare was awarded Best Girl Rider over Jumps after going clear in her two rounds and then holding her nerve despite a rail in the jump-off.
"She did a really good round under pressure. She did really well," Whyman said.
Area 5 takes in 40 pony clubs covering a broad swathe of the state, from Corowa to Peak Hill, and Griffith to Tumbarumba.
The four riders took on teams from another five areas across the state in a competition which has been running for more than 60 years, and draws the pick of competitors from 239 pony clubs (and nearly 12,000 members) across NSW.
The competitors in each Area team complete two rounds with the best three performances in a round counting towards the score.
It was the third year in a row a Riverina rider came home with an individual award, with O'Hare following in the footsteps of Mannell, who was Best Girl Rider Over Jumps in 2017, and Riley Whyman taking out the boy's equivalent last year.
Whyman also thanked team managers Kylie Reeves (who's also Area 5 secretary) and Steven Crawford for supporting the team in Sydney.
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