9 December 2024
Dutch touch at Battle of the Border Australia
While in Europe the indoor season is in full swing, in Australia - where it is now spring - the outdoor season is in full swing. At the national competition in Mullengandra, 70 competitors from all states of Australia came to the start for the ‘Battle of the Border’.Australian Four-in-Hand driver Tor van den Berge lives in the Netherlands for three years and won team bronze with teammate Boyd Exell at the World Championships for Four-in-Hand in Hungary in August. Van den Berge returned to his homeland to compete with a horse pair from his sponsor Ross Carbery. And with success. He won the horse pair class with his 15-year-old daughter Olivia as groom at the back of the carriage.
All states represented
The beautiful event on the border of the states of Victoria and North South Wales is Australia’s biggest driving competition in Australia. At the Carbery Estate grounds, owned by Ross Carbery and Meriam Bentley, nothing is lacking for the competitors and spectators. Meriam Bentley, also competition director, is proud of ‘her competition’.
Bentley: “When we are in Europe, we always look at competitions to see what we can copy to make our event better. For instance, we organise a state night, a nations night where all the states present themselves with region-specific snacks and drinks. So we are proud that all states are represented. The obstacles are designed and built by Ross himself, often based on European drawings. A tight dressage ring, fun extra prizes, a shopping village and a party evening – everything is there and the participants love coming. We attract a lot of visitors from the surrounding area and volunteers come from far and wide to help out. That’s what we do it for.”
Learning from each other
This year, there was also Dutch input. Marie de Ronde-Oudemans was at Down-Under by invitation as a judge and to give a number of clinics. “Australia is a wonderful country and I always feel so welcome here when I come to judge. This competition has a lot of potential and participants love coming here. You can’t imagine travelling 3,000 km to compete in a national competition, can you?”
“On the other hand, one pays only $200, regardless whether you start with a horse team or a small pony. Of course, in terms of experience of participants and officials, there is still some room for improvement, but everyone is open to that and the friendly and fine way in which everything is organised … some competitions in Europe could learn from them”, said De Ronde, who is now already on his way home for the next World Cup competition in Geneva next weekend.
Tor van den Berge with his daughter Olivia on their way to winning the marathon
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