Wendy feeding Prince a strawberry from her birthday cake
What better way to celebrate your 76th birthday than to saddle up ‘Prince of Thieves’ and trot it out in the Pan Pacific Masters Games (PPMG) Equestrian Dressage competition.
Spritely septuagenarian Wendy Pailthorpe can normally be found on the arena sidelines coaching her granddaughter, but the tables turned today with Ryder Wilkie offering her ‘GG’ some last-minute tips before her dressage test this morning.
Originally from Western Australia, Wendy acknowledged that the last time she competed in a dressage competition was when she was pregnant with Ryder’s mother in the mid-80s.
But I’m loving being back she said before attributing her success following her first ‘test’ to 17-year-old Australian saddle pony ‘Prince’ and his natural dressage tendencies.
Wendy also praised the PPMG for giving the sport more exposure and providing a great event for older riders to compete.
Wendy riding Prince, Ryder Wilkie and Jodi Wilkie.
PPMG Equestrian Dressage convenor Nicole Tough said they were delighted to get the competition up and running boasting a record number of riders from all over southeast and western Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
“Dressage is an equestrian sport which requires horse and rider to carry out a series of controlled patterns and movements in an arena for feedback from accredited dressage judges on their training and performance,” she explains.
“This PPMG competition is fabulous for us and a wonderful celebration of sport, life, exercise and movement with 80 riders over the weekend meaning our event is at capacity.
“There are lots of opportunities for young riders and youth but when you get a bit older you can be forgotten, that’s why the masters’ games are so important for us.
“It really helps keep dreams and plans and hopes alive and keeps our older riders setting goals and working to achieve them … on horseback,” she said.
Competitor Trisha Sellers and Equestrian Convenor Nicole Tough
Coming back for her first competition after a nasty broken arm seventy-year-old Trisha Sellers took to the arena early this morning to compete at the highest level contested at the PPMG dressage on the first day of competition.
Thrilled to be back on her trusty steed ‘Rakete’ and indicative of the quality of participants at the PPMG Equestrian Dressage Trisha explains her test today as just one level below what you would see at the Olympics.
Impeccably presented from head to toe in her dressage attire complete with stock tie and brooch Trisha said that despite only having four rides since her injury she felt confident and safe on Rakete today and was looking forward to an even harder test in tomorrow’s competition.
The PPMG Equestrian Dressage is being held at the Southport Pony & Hack Club.
Entries are still open in most individual and team sports and details can be found at www.mastersgames.com.au
The Pan Pacific Masters Games will officially kick off from 1-10 November with an opening ceremony on Saturday 2 November at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre followed by entertainment from the Australian Rock Collective.
The Pan Pacific Masters Games are organised by Events Management Queensland and are proudly supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland.
Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to experience our events.
Wendy riding Prince during her test.
