From Grassroots to the World Stage: It All Starts Somewhere

If you’re an equestrian, there’s a pretty good chance your eyes are on Aachen right now.

The 2026 FEI World Championships are underway in Germany, and after an incredible few days watching the world's best eventing riders tackle Aachen, attention has now turned to the show jumping.

Watching Australians ride into an arena like Aachen wearing the green and gold is incredibly exciting. It’s the pinnacle of our sport and, for many riders watching from home, perhaps the ultimate dream.

But it can also make the journey from where you are now to there seem enormous.

The reality is that nobody gets to that level in one giant leap.

Our sport is built on thousands of ordinary days. Lessons that don't quite go to plan. Competitions where you jump one height higher for the first time. Learning to ride a better turn. Walking courses. Making mistakes. Learning the rules. Helping someone else. Putting poles away at the end of the day.

And that's something we have been thinking about a lot at HARA lately.

Being a Better Competitor Isn't Just About Jumping Higher

It's very easy in show jumping to measure progress by the numbers.

60cm becomes 70cm. Then 80cm. Then 90cm.

But becoming a better competitor involves so much more than simply making the fences bigger.

It's understanding your sport and its rules. It's learning how to conduct yourself in a warm-up arena. It's respecting your fellow competitors, officials and volunteers.

It's looking after your horse and being willing to learn.

Some of the best horse people we see at our events aren't necessarily the ones jumping the biggest fences.

They're often the people quietly doing all of those little things well.

So, with that in mind, we thought we'd include a couple of reminders about things that have popped up recently at our events.

A Quick Rules Refresher: Do You Know Your Whip Rules?

This is one we've noticed catching a few riders out.

Under the current Equestrian Australia National Jumping Rules, a rider may carry only one whip while mounted.

You can use a dressage whip while working your horse on the flat at a jumping event.

However, once you are riding over poles or an obstacle in the competition arena, warm-up arena or training arena, you cannot carry or use a whip longer than 75cm. A weighted whip is also prohibited.

It's a relatively small rule, but exactly the sort of thing that's worth knowing before competition day.

And it's also a good reminder that riders should familiarise themselves with the current rules of the sport rather than relying solely on what we've always done or what somebody once told us.

A Reminder: Smoking and Vaping at Our Events

We also want to clarify something that has come up recently regarding smoking and vaping.

Camden Council's event conditions prohibit smoking within an event site.

Going forward, HARA Equine will also have a no smoking or vaping rule within our event spaces, including competition arenas, warm-up areas, training areas and other areas forming part of the HARA event site.

Our competition grounds are shared by horses, riders, officials, volunteers, spectators, families and plenty of children.

We're not looking to make things unnecessarily difficult for anyone. We simply ask that if you wish to smoke or vape, you move well away from the event and equestrian areas before doing so.

It's a small courtesy that helps make the environment more comfortable for everyone.

Want to Get More Involved in the Sport? Here's One of the Best Ways

There's another part of grassroots competition that we would love more people to experience: helping behind the scenes.

We think sometimes people don't volunteer because they assume somebody else will do it.

Other times, they might genuinely have no idea where they could help.

You don't need to be an experienced official or know everything about show jumping to get involved.

Sometimes we simply need a few extra hands putting poles on a trailer, helping with a course change, picking up fallen down poles or packing equipment away at the end of the day. And there is actually a lot to gain from doing it.

Helping behind the scenes gives you a completely different perspective on the sport. You get to know other riders, officials and organisers. You see how courses are built and changed. You learn how competition days operate. And you become part of the community rather than simply arriving, riding your rounds and heading home.

There is also a very practical reason why this matters.

Those 10 or 20 Minutes Can Help Keep Grassroots Sport Affordable

Running equestrian events is becoming increasingly expensive.

There are officials, medical services, equipment, venue hire, insurance, course designers, judges and countless other costs involved before the first horse even enters the arena.

There are some jobs, however, that don't need another paid staff member.

Packing away a course might be a significant job for one or two people at the end of a very long competition day. With ten riders, parents or friends lending a hand, it can be finished incredibly quickly. The same applies to setting up.

If those jobs consistently need to become paid positions, that cost ultimately has to be absorbed somewhere, and eventually that means higher entry fees for competitors.

So when you hear us over the loudspeaker asking whether anyone has ten minutes to give us a hand, please don't assume somebody else will do it.

You don't have to give us your entire day.

Sometimes ten minutes really does make a difference.

And if you're not sure what to do, come and ask us. We will happily find you ways to join in!

Grassroots Sport Doesn't Happen Without a Community

Perhaps that's one of the nicest things to remember while we're watching Aachen.

We're seeing the finished product.

We're seeing riders who have spent years developing their horses and their own skills walk into one of the biggest arenas in the world and represent their country.

What we don't see in those few minutes are all the people and all the little moments that helped them get there.

The coaches. The families. The owners. The breeders. The sponsors. The officials. The volunteers. The clubs. The competition organisers.

And thousands upon thousands of rounds jumped at smaller competitions along the way.

That is grassroots sport.

So whether you're currently jumping 60cm, preparing for your first 1.20m, helping your child at their first competition or putting rails away after the last class of the day, you are part of it.

And who knows?

There could be a young rider watching Aachen this week who will one day ride through those gates wearing the green and gold.

For now, though, there are horses to ride, rules to learn, courses to walk and probably a few poles that need putting away.

And that's not a bad place to start.

Thank you for being a huge part of our HARA community.

Rhianna x