Riders embrace speed, fun at Karratha gymkhana

Riders from across the Pilbara put their horsemanship to the test at the Karratha Adult Riding Club’s annual gymkhana last month.

Held at the Karratha Equestrian Centre, the Boots and Babes Twilight Gymkhana drew riders from as far away as Port Hedland and Exmouth to compete in events ranging from the serious to the light-hearted such as musical sticks and a jackpot barrel race.

The winner of the open category, for fastest adult rider was Faime Chappell, followed by runner-up Samantha Whitburn.

Chappell also won the encouragement/novice award, in which Kate Redmond came second, while in the juniors, Riley Bird was crowned the champion and Teya Bailey the runner-up.

Young participants in the lead liner category each received a medallion and prize for participation.

Chappell, who is also the Karratha Adult Riding Club vice president, said the gymkhana was a chance for local riders to show their speed and technique on horseback through various games.

“It was an amazing environment where all levels of riders came together to encourage and cheer each other on — it was loud, fun and fast,” she said.

“The competition was close in all categories, and we finished the night with presentations and a great feed with friends and family.”

Chappell also said the club had made the event more family friendly this year in an effort to get its many juniors more involved.

“We previously only had kids involved at the start, but this year we really opened it up to them and made it a really family-friendly event, because we’ve got so many juniors and juniors are the future of our club,” she said.

“They loved it and the parents loved them being involved in it too because it is a really fun event.”

She said the Karratha gymkhana continued to grow each year.