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August 2008
Olympic Silver Medal
To re-live the Olympic moments & see videos, check out Emma's Olympic Commentary.
Loads of Olympic Photos
Here are a few links to interviews, stories and other items regarding Megan. Click
HERE
July 2008
Megan's Diary Updates
To stay up to date with Megan's journey, check out her Blog.
Olympic Selection!
Megan & Jester have done it! They have been selected for the Beijing Olympics. This has been a life long dream for Megan, and to be heading
there on a Kirby Park born & bred horse just makes it that much more special.
In anticipation of the announcement, some of Megan's friends organised a good luck BBQ.
Click HERE for photos.
Full details of squad on the EFA Website
June 2008
Melbourne 3DE
The final Olympic selection event for Australian based riders. Megan & Jester put in yet another outstanding performance, winning the 3 Star.
Click HERE for photos.
April 2008
Sydney 3DE
Megan & Jester put together another great performance, taking 2nd place to take them closer to the Olympic dream.
Click HERE for photos.
March 2008
Kirkcaldy Horse Trials
A great outing for the young horses.
Click HERE for photos.
December 2007
Lakes & Craters 3DE
Finally, with strict controls in place to avoid the spread of EI, there's light at the end of the tunnel with the return of competition.
Click HERE for photos.
October 2007
Kirby Park International 4 Hour Event
When there's no competitions to go to, why not create our own! A "international" event was staged for all the young agisters at Kirby Park Stud.
A great day was had by all. Click HERE for photos.
September 2007
Equine Influenza
An 'EI' outbreak has all but brought Australia to a standstill.
August 2007
Olympic Test Event
Click HERE for all the latest on the Olympic Test event!
July 2007
Hong Kong Olympic Test Event
I am very excited to announce that my next big competition is the Olympic test event being held from the 10th to 13th
August 2007 in Hong Kong. It was a great honour to be asked to ride in the event along with Shane Rose. It will be a
CCI** level event and 9 countries will be sending teams of 2 or 3 riders and horses. This event will be used for each
country to assess the weather conditions in Hong Kong at this time of the year. It is actually typhoon season and
therefore, it is hot and very humid. I’m really looking forward to seeing the Olympic venue. As my plan is to make
it to the Olympics in 2008, having this sneak preview will be very helpful. I will be able to visualize my performance
12 months out so that by the time I get there, I will have perfection in my sights.
I will be taking Fedwel to this event. This will be his first flight, but I am confident that he will be fine as he is
normally a really good traveller. It will be better than a truck trip to Queensland in my old rattle box of a truck!!
I will be taking lots of photos and video of the trip and I look forward to being able to share my experiences in
Hong Kong with you all.
My long suffering father will be doing his utmost to load photos on a daily basis, as he did for the World Games last year.
So keep an eye on our site for all the latest in new and pictures from the Olympic Test Event in Hong Kong!
June 2007
I took two horses to Werribee, Melbourne International 3 Day Event this year, Kirby Park Allofasudden in the CCI*** and
Fedwel in the CIC/W*** class.
I had planned to go hard on Fedwel in the CIC/W*** class as he is an older and more experienced competitor. He did a
good dressage test, and although not his best, I was still pleased with his performance. He felt very strong on the cross
country, and so much so that I had to actually slow him up a little on course as he was almost going too fast. This
resulted in a few time faults, but he still finished 5th after cross country.
My aim was for Kirby Park Allofasudden to finish within the top 10. I planned for a solid dressage test so that I
could be a little more conservative on cross country. He was placed 5th after his dressage test and had an amazing cross
country run. He felt so much older than his 6 years and cruised around with 9 time faults. I only had one hairy moment on
him on cross country when he jumped too low over the bounce into the first water, fence 6, and consequently landed too
steeply, but he showed great maturity in his recovery.
The show jumping at Werribee is always very tough as it is indoors and always big. The course this year was also very
technical. Fedwel jumped out of his skin, however, still had one fence down. Fortunately there were very few rounds
better than that and he finished in 4th place. Allofasudden is an amazing jumper as you can see from the photos on our
in the gallery, but the course proved a little technical for him and he had two fences down and 3 time faults. There was
again plenty of trouble on course and he stilled finished in 10th Place. Allofasudden is aiming for the renowned Sydney 3
Day Event in September and then looking towards the prestigious Adelaide International Horse Trials CCI****(4star)
competition.
You can view photos and video from Werribee HERE.
May 2007
The main event for May was the Naracoorte International CIC Horse Trials.
This year it was a great event for me as well as the event being an International CIC it was the SA state championships.
I don’t like camping in my truck so much these days (I really need to get something more comfortable) so as Naracoorte
is only 4 hours away from home I did the same as last year and drove down early Saturday morning at 2am (or late Friday
night depends how you look at it) to arrive at 6am. This year however my wonderful partner Stephen dorve for me so I
could sleep and arrive fresh for my 5 dressage tests over three classes. I had Cream and Tessa(a new project) in the
Preliminary class Kirby Park Joy (rolly) in the CIC** and Fedwel (hinie) and Kirbyh Park Allofasudden (floyd) in the
CIC***.
They all did great test with Rolly leading the CIC** and Floyd winning the CIC*** by 9 points to Hinie who was 2nd.
Sunday came and all the tracks were up to state championship standard but all my horses jumped really well I had 5 clear
show jumping rounds as well. I won the CIC** on Rolly and hinie had some time on cross country so slipped to 3rd by .05
of a point but Floyd had his first 3* win and win he did by 10 points in the end. Go floyd !! we are now all fired up for
Werribee three day event in just under two weeks I have Floyd in the CCI*** and Hinie in the CIC***/W (world cup qualifier
class).
February 2007
I decided to start my season early this year and make the hike up to Sydney for the mid week and weekend event at SIEC
(Sydney International Equestrian Center). We fought a major head wind all the way across the Hay Plain resulting in us
travelling at 60km p/hour all the way to Tarrcutta! Not so happy about that!!!
Despite the long trip, we arrived safely and the ground here couldn’t have been better. There had been 2 inches of rain
at SIEC on the Monday and as we arrived on Tuesday, the going for the horses was perfect and it made the long drive well
worth it.
My results however were not quite as perfect as I had hoped for. All the horses did a good test, in fact Floyd did a
super test! One of the judges liked him and the other was having a day of the grumps and selective blindness I think. It
was not only me, everyone else in the class agreed. It is disappointing when that happens… oh well, at least we know he
was great.
Emma King, my working pupil from WA who had bought Kirby Park Irish Mist(aka: Wonder) from me late last year, did a good
test and placed 2nd after the dressage phase only to have an unlucky fall in the water. Wonder jumped in well and landed
with her front legs, however, her hind legs slipped on the wooden board on the edge and caused her to fall sideways!! For
a total ducking!!! Poor Emma and Wonder, the whole round was so perfect until the 2nd last fence. Oh well, I guess it is
good we started early this season. My guys were great, but I decided to take them slowly as it is still February and it’s
going to be a long season ahead and I didn’t want to get them too fit too early.
It’s Friday today and it is a well earned rest day for the ponies. Not so lucky for us…we still got up early so that we
could put our horses in the lunge yards until it got too hot, then take them for a walk and put them back in their boxes
when the midday sun sets in.
So onto the weekend SIEC event and this proved to be a little more successful for us all.
Emma jumped a double clear on Irish Mist in the Pre Novice and I put my knitting needles aside for a short time and only
got 15 time faults per horse on cross country this time instead of the 30 I received during the week. They all did great
tests and show jumped well.
I placed 5th, 8th, and 12th. I figured if I had them fit enough to make time in February, I wouldn’t have very sound
horses by June!!
My wonderful partner Stephen was my saviour on Sunday. He flew to Sydney Sunday morning just in time to arrive, help us
pack up and help me drive home again as I had a jumping clinic with Jamie Coman and needed to get the horses home asap to
give them a bit of a break before their lessons on Tuesday! Poor little guys, but they coped well and jumped extremely
well at the clinic.
November 2006
Where do we start! So much has been happening...
Foaling season is here!
On November 22nd our maiden mare Afro was very obliging by foaling down in late afternoon. This enabled us to capture the birth
in photos. She had a little difficulty pushing, so Megan gave her a little help and in no time at all a gorgeous strong filly
was born, her name is "Mushie" (her big blaze looks like a mushroom!). She is by our stallion KP Nantamboo and has his trademark
chrome and long legs.
Check out the pictures of the birth.
Birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays!!
A message from Megan:
Well 2006 has been a year of big things and mile stones for me first with the World Equestrian Games and coming home with
some bling to turning 30!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAH! So before everyone got into Christmas mode and before I head to Camperdown
for the final event of the season I had a party. To celebrate my 30th this party was also for my mum as she turned 60 in
September while over seas and Stephen my fantastic dead sexy boyfriend had his birthday a week before mine and turned....
well if I actually wrote his age he would probably be my fantastic dead sexy ex boyfriend!!!!!!!! Ha ha
We had a great time with a couple of little “thump star” motor bikes, BBQ, music and oh yes the magic of SING STAR (karaoke)
it was just too funny (with thanks to Emma's husband Daniel for being the master in charge of the play station!). Steve gave
me a motor bike for my birthday last year and bough himself one so we could go “thumping”
together. The amount of injuries at last years party was quite huge but this year the general standard was much better so
the only injuries where the boys showing off!
The karaoke was very funny once I got started they couldn’t get me off! And I only had two beers!!!
Check out the PHOTOS of the fun.
Megan
E Banc Trade Adelaide International Horse Trials
Megan wins Anna Savage 'Best and Fairest' award, Jester wins Peppermint Grove Award
Congratulations to Megan for being named Australia's Best and Fairest rider for the second time. The Peppermint Grove is a
new award in honour of Gill Rolton's brave horse 'Freddy' - this award is for the Australian-based Eventing horse that the
National Selectors identify as Australia's most talented athlete at CCI***/**** level showing athleticism, honesty and
bravery. These two awards cap off what has been a sensational 12 months for both Megan & Jester.
Megan's young horses Kirby Park Joy (Rolly) and Kirby Park Allofasudden (Floyd) are also continuing to impress. Each was
leading their class after dressage at the AIHT. Rolly had an unfortunate stop, where Megan wanted to go the long way but
Rolly locked on to the short option which resulted in a stop. Floyd followed up his win at Melbourne with an overall second
placing, just half a point off the lead. These two youngsters are coming along beautifully!
Check out the photos!
August 2006
BRONZE MEDAL FOR THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM!! For a recap of all the excitement, see the WEG Updates page.
Megan also kept a diary whilst on the road to the WEG.
June 2006
Look out World Equestrian Games!!! Megan & Jester have been selected to go into the final camp in July, along with 6 other riders.
From there, a final selection of the Australian based riders to go into camp in Germany will be made. All Megan & Jesters hard
work has paid off.
Megan had a very successful time at the Melbourne International Horse Trials in Werribee. Megan took Jester quietly on XC an incurred
some time faults, but as usual they did a faultless show jumping round. Floyd had his moment in the spot light, he must have been
beginning to feel a little like the bridesmaid, but with Rolly out of action for the competition Floyd stepped up and performed
brilliantly all weekend to win the CIC 1 Star. He looked very proud of himself!
Melbourne International Horse Trials
1st Place – CCI 1 Star with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
3rd Place - CCI 3 Star with Kirby Park Irish Jester
Up coming clinics - For more information click HERE
Queensland – Fig Tree Pocket Equestrian Center - June 29 & 30
Queensland - Warwick Horse Trials Club - July 1 & 2
May 2006
This year has been very successful so far, with all of Megan's horses doing extremely well. There is also plenty of action at
Kirby Park, with new agisters tackrooms being built and the new showjumping arena progressing well (though a little slow, we are
waiting for delivery of the new surface).
Naracoorte Horse Trials
1st Place – CIC 1 Star with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
8th Place – CIC 1 Star with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
1st Place (Dressage only) - CIC 3 Star with Kirby Park Irish Jester. He also show jumped clear, Megan did not run him on XC
April 2006
With the eventing season in full swing April is another busy month for Megan and her team (both horses and people!).
Jester is being kept wrapt in cotton wool until Melbourne 3DE in June, though Megan takes him to events and just does
the Dressage and Showjumping phases to keep him in tune. Megan is also holding 2 clinics during April
Reynella Horse Trials
2nd Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
4th Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
1st Place - Intro with Kirby Park Bandit
1st Place (Dressage only) - CNC 3 Star with Kirby Park Irish Jester. He also show jumped clear, Megan did not run him on XC
Camperdown Horse Trials
3rd Place – CIC 1 Star with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
Grand Cru Horse Trials
1st Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
5th Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
1st Place - Intro with Kirby Park Bandit
Albury International Horse Trials Results
2nd Place – Pre Novice with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
2nd Place – Pre Novice with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
1st Place (Dressage only) - CIC 3 Star with Kirby Park Irish Jester, a Personal Best score of 38.8. He also show jumped
clear, Megan did not run him on XC
March 2006
With the eventing season in full swing. Apr
This is going to be an exciting year for Megan with her sights set
firmly on representing Australia at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany in August.
Kirkcaldy Horse Trials
1st Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
4th Place – CNC 1 Star with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
3rd Place - Intro with Kirby Park Bandit
Tonimbuk Horse Trials
1st Place – CIC 3 Star with Kirby Park Fedwell (aka Heini)
1st Place – Pre Novice with Kirby Park Joy (aka Rolly)
3rd Place – Pre Novice with Kirby Park All Of A Sudden (aka Floyd)
December 2005
Merry Christmas!!
Eventing Clinics in Jan/Feb 2006. Click
HERE for more information.
New Showjumping Arena at Kirby Park Stud. Photos soon of our very large all weather showjumping arena.
November 2005
Time again for the Adelaide International Horse Trials, this year again hosting the Trans Tasman Championship. Click
HERE for updates on Megans performance (including video) over the weekend.
October 2005
Rest in Peace Kirby Park Irish Hallmark.
A Tribute to Kirby Park Irish Hallmark (lower quality, 10MB)
A Tribute to Kirby Park Irish Hallmark (high quality, 55MB)
September 2005
Kirby Park Irish Hallmark has made a return to competition. Retired 12 months ago due to an
unsuccessful operation on his throat
a miracle has occurred and Paddy is back in action! Check out the gallery for photos of his winning performance!
June 2005
Megan & Kirby Park Irish Jester WIN the CCI*** at Melbourne! This was a wonderful return to competition for Jester. Showing what
a brilliant combination they are, Megan and Jester were the only combination in the CCI*** class to finish on their dressage
score. Photos to come...
April 2005
Eventing Clinic - Click HERE for more details
VALE - Kirby Park Irish Jordan
January 2005
NEW - Young Rider Scholarship Weekend Photos (due to a number of requests at the Awards night, I have uploaded the photos taken at the scholarship weekend). Click
HERE to view the photos.
December 2004
Finally, the long wait it over! Kirby Park has a website! We are still in working on the website, so please be patient over the coming weeks while we get all the required information onto the site.