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World Championship Gold Buckle Campdraft to be televised with biggest prize pool ever

Willinga Park’s World Championship Gold Buckle Campdraft returns on 16-18 May 2019 with the richest prize pool in any campdrafting event ever—it’s even bigger than last year! And for the first time the Gold Buckle Campdraft will be televised live on free-to-air TV through the Seven Network.

Terry Snow wanted to change the campdrafting world and give competitors, owners and spectators a unique experience. This year he’s gone even farther by offering $275,000 in prize money and a genuine Gold Buckle to the winner.


Last year, a far north Queensland competitor, Peter Comiskey, won the Gold Buckle after driving for four days just to reach the competition. He drove home $132,000 richer.

“It’s not going to be easy, there are plenty who want to knock me off the top,” says Comiskey. “I’ve got a great team of horses and think I can win back-to-back!”

Campdrafting is a truly Australian sport that started when drovers, moving cattle along the roads, wanted to prove their horse skills. Now, 100 years later, it has more than 16,000 registered members. While you used to be able to find drafts on most weekends throughout the country, the crippling drought has strangled a huge part of the cattle market, and it has been hard to source cattle for events. To make the Gold Buckle Campdraft the top event in Australia, Willinga Park has purchased cattle from as far away as the Western district of Victoria.

“We want to ensure we have the best cattle possible,” says Terry Snow of Willinga Park. “To do so, we needed to look far and wide to find and purchase cattle and transport them to Willinga Park in time for the event in May.”

More than 400 horses are expected to compete at Willinga Park during all three days of intense competition, creating plenty of fun for families and people of all ages. Tickets will be on sale on Tuesday, 2 April at Willingapark.com.au.

“The Willinga Park team are excited to see Australia’s campdrafting fans,” says Mr Snow. “We look forward to an amazing experience as the eyes of the Campdrafting world are set on the nation’s top campdrafting competition, Gold Buckle Campdraft 2019.”

About Willinga Park

Willinga Park is a world-class equestrian centre set on 41 Hectares of the NSW South Coast.

Combining stunning architecture, sculptures, and a native botanical garden, it houses the latest in equine technology, has been home to numerous equine sporting events including the first-ever CDI 4* Dressage competition in the Southern Hemisphere. It has been used as a film set and for photo shoots. Its facilities include luxury
stables, commercial cattle stud facilities and extensive facilities for the agistment and training of horses. Willinga Park also has Hereford cattle with some of the best breeding in the country. Each year, Willinga Park hosts several community-wide events and premier equine sporting competitions across dressage, showjumping and campdrafting. Willinga Park fully supports Australia’s athletes across equestrian disciplines and aims to fully support past and future Australian Olympians.

For more information contact: Kathleen Sweetapple  Communications and Media Officer  Willinga Park  0455 22 77 11  k.sweetapple@willinga.com.au

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