Bullsbrook District High school student Tessa Forbes has just been selected to compete for Western Australia in the Prince Phillip Mounted Games at the Pony Club Association
(PCA) National Championships in 2013.
At thirteen, Tessa will compete in the junior section of the competition which is part of a huge event held by the PCA and will take place in September at the State Equestrian
Centre, Brigadoon. It is the first time WA has hosted the national event, and for mounted games riders, that means the first time they’ll compete on their own horses.
Tessa learnt to ride through the South Midlands Pony club at age eight, and competed at her first mounted games competition at Moora that same year. Since then, Tessa has
ridden many different disciplines, including endurance, western showing and junior rodeo.
However her favourite, above and beyond all others, is mounted games. She still thoroughly enjoys show jumping and cross country and has three horses in work, a Blondie she uses for games, Fallon she is training for games and a 16.2hh thoroughbred, Dillan for everything other than games.
Experienced competitor Dan Foster has coached Tessa in mounted games for over three years. He says, “Tessa is doing fantastically well, not just in her age category, but in the
open sections as well.”
“A good rider in mounted games is athletic, has good hand-eye cordination and spends a lot of time training” says Dan. “Tessa puts in a lot of time on her horse and it shows.”
Tessa has been a member of MGA (Mounted Games Australia) for 3 years and has traveled over east 5 times riding borrowed ponies in AMGA competitions.
Competing on borrowed horses is always a challenge, as understandably competitors usually keep their best horses for themselves. However Tessa managed some good results,
including a 4th place at the MGA Nationals Pairs in Albury/Wodonga U15’s on a borrowed pony.
Her Palamino pony Beelo Bi Coorong, (Blondie) is also thirteen, and the pair have been riding together for three years. No doubt Tessa can’t wait to put her through her paces at the Nationals later this year, and we wish them Tessa Forbes on Beelo Bi Coorong.
