Australia’s biggest Campdrafting competition and performance horse sale returns in 2020

Australia’s premier Campdrafting competition and performance horse sale is set to launch this week, and this year the event has a brand-new name. Known for the past 13 years as the Landmark Classic, this key event in the performance horse circuit will continue under the new title ‘The Nutrien Classic’.

The name change comes as a result of the merging of brands Landmark and Ruralco Holdings under Landmark’s Canadian parent company, Nutrien Ag Solutions – and as Nutrien Equine’s Claudia Turnbull explains, the name may have changed but the event remains Australia’s pinnacle performance horse event. “The Classic is the largest event of its kind in Australia and an annual highlight for breeders, competitors and spectators,” she says.

Taking place from Saturday 1st to Sunday 9th February at The Australian Equine and Livestock Centre (AELEC) in Tamworth, the 2020 Nutrien Classic will this year celebrate 13 years of success. Over that time, it’s earned the title of Australia’s biggest campdraft and sale, hosting up to 500 competitors, 300 horse handlers, 5,500 daily visitors and more than 491,000 livestream views across the nine days.

This year promises an exciting new addition to the line-up; water buffalo, brought all the way from Katherine in the Northern Territory. Nutrien has purchased around 70 head of farmed buffalo, and while they won’t be used for competition events, they’ll replace cattle for pre-works during the event.

As event organiser Mark Barton explains, “we’re always looking for ways to overcome the challenges of current climate conditions, and we believe that sourcing water buffalo is one way to do this. Sadly, many farmers have been forced to de-stock, which means there just aren’t the cattle numbers available for event use. Given that the ongoing drought has affected our ability to get cattle in for this year’s event, this is an exciting new departure that’s also sure to be a crowd-pleaser.”

The 2020 event will see the return of key events like the Nutrien Classic Campdraft, which offers $40,000 in prize money, the Martins Stock Haulage Open Campdraft, where top riders are able to ride any horse to try their luck at a $8,000 winners cheque, and the Prydes EasiFeed Performance Horse Challenge, a special event that allows competitors to show off their horses’ skills and style. Also back is the Charlie Maher Memorial Young Guns Campdraft, held in honour and memory of Classic Co-Founder Charlie Maher. Showcasing the incredible young talent of our campdrafting community, it promises to draw a large and enthusiastic crowd to what is one of Nutrien’s most loved events. 2020 will also see a new event in honour of the late Jimmy Matthews, a campdraft legend who sadly passed in 2016. The Ladies Dash for Cash Incentive, which will see the top 10 ladies from all first-round scores compete in a final showdown.

Events aside, the other big drawcard for this year’s Nutrien Classic is the sale, with vendors and buyers travelling from every state and territory to take part. Last year, sales exceeded $7 million for the third year running, with 83% of horses sold. Overall sales hit an average of $14,672.52 – only just shy of the previous year’s average – and Jenn Corbett’s Lot 262 “Yaven Smooth Spin” was the star of the show, setting a new Australian Performance Horse record when she sold for $230,000 to Steve & Toni Hart.

Toni Hart describe their reaction to that news, and their thoughts on this year’s event: “Our 2019 purchases were very important to our family. We were fortunate enough to purchase three beautiful fillies and secure the bloodlines we wanted. We aim to produce intelligent, trainable progeny that can track a beast and we enjoy riding. Yaven Smooth Spin was a 2yo when we purchased her, and she has grown into a strong framed mare and is a dream to ride,” says Toni.

The Hart family is also privileged to support the Ladies Cash for Dash Incentive. “The winner of this event will receive a service fee from our stallion, The Metallist, who will also be at the sale.

We are big supporters of the Nutrien Classic. It is an important event that continues to drive and expand our industry. The inclusion of the buffalo at this year’s event is innovative and demonstrates the organisers are keen to deliver a high quality and sustainable event for the future,” says Toni.

As Nutrien’s Claudia Turnbull says, “this year’s event will again be live-streamed at https://www.landmarklive.com.au/, so viewers can catch a glimpse of the action no matter where they are. We’re really excited by this year’s line-up, and we’re anticipating a bigger than ever turnout for what is sure to be another highly enjoyable year.”

Visitors can attend every day and all evening events for FREE. To view the full program, visit https://www.landmarklive.com.au/.

Media Enquiries:
C7EVEN Communications
Zoe Warden
(02) 6766 4513 / 0448 253 094
zoe.warden@c7even.com.au

Adam Arndell
(02) 6766 4513 / 0403 372 889
adam.arndell@c7even.com.au