Looking for something a little different to do this weekend?
Make your way to the Forbes Multipurpose Equestrian Centre, where Forbes Sorting and Penning is saddling up for a weekend full of action, fun, and a few local legends stepping out of their comfort zones and into the arena.
With 90 riders, both local and interstate, registered to compete, it promises to be a big weekend.
But the real crowd-pleaser might just be the Gold Sponsor Sort, where familiar faces from local businesses will swap spreadsheets for saddles in what's expected to be entertaining competition.
“It will definitely be worth coming down and cheering them on,” said club secretary Melissa West, who confirmed this weekend is also the club’s finals series - and there’s good prize money on offer thanks to generous local business support.
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The Sponsor Sort kicks off around 5.30pm Saturday, and it’s not just for glory: for every cow sorted by these celebrity competitors the club will donate $5 for CanAssist, with all funds going to support local cancer patients.
“Our theme for the weekend is cancer is all colours – for all the different ribbons (for different cancers),” West said. “People will be in their bright shirts on Saturday.”
Spectators can also get involved with raffles and hundred clubs running across the day, all raising money for the cause.
The competition begins with Western Heritage classes Friday night, followed by a full schedule from 8am Saturday and Sunday. Spectators are welcome all weekend, and there’s a canteen on site, so bring the whole family.
If you want to catch the sponsor sort, come early Saturday afternoon as you won’t want to miss the All Levels class just before it.
“You’ll get to see your really highly-rated riders: we’ve got some of the highest rated riders in Australia that will be competing in that class,” West said.
“Then also there’s a lot of local people riding and they’re in that class as well.”
Never seen sorting and penning before? It’s a fast-paced sport where pairs of riders work together to sort cattle in number order: they have 10 cows and one minute, with one rider working stock and one on the gate.
Riders are coming from as far away as Queensland and South Australia, and it’s truly a sport for all ages, with competitors from age eight to over 80.
“It’s a really family orientated sport but you don’t have to have done this all your life,” West said.
You can compete with friends or family, but you certainly don’t need to: you can be auto-drawn and meet new friends on the go.
