Clockwise from top left: Dianne Latta of Edenhope Hunt Club riding WONDER BOY at the Strathyre Hunters Spectacular. Photo: Dean Williamson; Mr M Barton and NABINABAH GUNMAN, October 1982; Classifiers Maxine Brooks, Aaron Ryan and Peter Grogan at a North Coast Branch Classification Day in 1981, with George Walters’ gelding SPIKE JONES. Photo: Anne McNickle.
1981 a Special Meeting was held at Emerald, attended by Branch Delegates and Directors, Theo Hill, Bryant Gavin, Bill Keen and Charles Duke. The Queensland Management Council was elected as: Chairman – Peter Blundell, Vice Chairman – Tony Bloodworth, Jnr V. Chairman – Denis Hanrahan and Secretary – Kelsie Fitzgerald.
On 9th July, 1982 at the Convention Centre, Chevron Hotel, Surfers Paradise was the official handover of Eddie Hackman’ s‘ Nat Buchanan Sculpture’ to the State President. This trophy is keenly contested each year in Queensland in nine rotating equine disciplines.
On 19th April, 1984, at a Special Meeting in Charters Towers, the North Queensland Management Council was formed, with Ernest Bassingthwaighte elected as President and Margie Rea as Secretary. This gave Queensland a South and North Qld Management Counci, and each Management Council now holds its own State Show.
In 1985, Gympie Branch held the first Futurity of its kind ever held in Australia – even before the National Futurity / Maturity, of which Gympie Branch is very proud. The first Futurity was held at Widgee, and was the brainchild of three horse people in the Gympie area – Ian Francis, the late John Elliot and Anne Sutherland. The idea was to have young horses competing against their own age group, and also to promote stallions who sired these youngsters, in order to have successful bloodlines recognised by the public. Some of the original committee are still involved in the event today.
Chinchilla Branch was formed in June of 1985, with
Cec Sullivan as President. The Branch had Classification Days, training and competition days with the Campdraft Club. Their first Annual Show was 1986 / 87 and the Branch later joined the South Queensland Futurity Series.
In 1986, Don Cross gave a Perpetual Trophy for a Teams Campdraft Competition between Branches. Central Darling Downs Branch was the first to win the Trophy. This competition continues today, culminating each year in a hard fought final with much rivalry. In 1992, East Moreton Branch held its first Futurity, Maturity and Challenge. In 1995, South Queensland Management Council hosted the first National Show to be held in Queensland at Chinchilla – a very successful event. In 1998, the first Maiden Campdraft Series Final was also run at Chinchilla.
The South Queensland Futurity Series began in the mid 1990s, and is very strongly contested each year, with currently five Branches— Gympie, East Moreton, West Moreton, Eastern Downs and Chinchilla— hosting a Futurity / Maturity and Challenge for the overall High Point. In 2011, a new section for Youth Judging was added.
Queensland has hosted three very successful National Championships – at Chinchilla( 1995), and Warwick( 2003 and 2006). Warwick also hosted the National Show in 2010. Queensland has also had the honour of presenting State Service Awards to Cec Sullivan, Gwen Lyons, Dawn Sullivan, Mary Ann Atthow and Sue Goodmanson. These people have all supported the Society for many years at Branch, State and National Show level.
12