Southern Highlands Carriage Club to host ZIlco Ashes

The Zilco Ashes, a carriage driving competition between the United Kingdom and Australia, is coming to the Southern Highlands Carriage Club (SHCC) grounds in Bundanoon from August 8-13.

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SHCC treasurer Yvonne Wood said the club was invited by the UK Carriage Driving Society to host the event, which involves competitors from all over the country and the UK, because their name was out there and they were known as a very innovative club.

"We were invited by the because in 2011, we hosted the 40th anniversary of the sport in the country and we happened to buy some carriage driving carts from the UK," she said.

"Last year, we won the best international carriage driving club in the world for the UK carriage driving magazine yearly awards.

"We also came second to France in 2021."

The competition was designed for grassroot drivers to participate initially in the championships, and then to gain a place on the Australian Zilco Ashes Team headed up by Australia's world champion Boyd Exel.

This will be the first event of its type in the Australian carriage driving world, so it will be a promotion of driving in this country, as well as putting Bundanoon on the world map.

The first four days of the week are all training days, while the competition will be on the final two days.

The competition consists of the dressage, obstacles and the cones categories.

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