Ashburton Courier: November 26, 2020

www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
NEWS
Ashburton Courier, November 26, 2020
21
Young riders jump at learning chance
Horse of the Yearfeaturesin
the long­term goals of Methven
Pony Club members Sophie
Sauer and Hannah Thickett.
The two riders were recent
Star Spotters Scholarship
recipients;Sophie of the NZPH
and ESNZ sponsored
membership and registration
package andHannah anewly
created AshburtonAreaESNZ
Jumping and Showhunter
Group first year’s rider
membership andmentorship.
Ashburton Area ESNZ
Delegate ZoeShore said the
starspotters scholarships
received “someexceptional
applications thatmade it very
difficult to choose just one
rider”.Itresulted in the
Ashburton area grouptaking on
the secondary scholarship
which was awarded to Hannah.
Hannah, 14, hasbeenriding
for 10 years but only competing
for the past four and mostly in
showing.However it’s only in
the past two yearsthat shehas
become more serious with
showjumping competing mostly
in local pony clubshows with
the oddtrip to Christchurch.
Shelikes the “energy rush”
showjumpingoffers as well as
having fun with her pony club
peers, and other riders at
competition.
Her horse is nine year old
Luna Eclipse, who shehas had
for the pastyear.
Hannah wants to work with
Lunaand take showjumping to
ahigher level by getting out to
more events.
ForSophie, 13, it’s beena
life­long enjoyment; she was
Hannah Thickett (from left) and
Sophie Sauer, with horses Luna
Eclipse and Griffindor Robinson
respectively, have their sights
set on competing in future
Horse of the Year competitions.
PHOTO TONI WILLIAMS
riding at aged two and since she
was four years old done lead
reinright through toopen
showing.
Sophie enjoys all pony club
eventsaswell as trekking and
regularly rides on ahigh
country cattle muster. While
she has competed up to 80cm at
local shows and eventsSophie,
along with eight­year­old horse
Griffindor Robinson, whoshe
only gotafter lockdownthis
year, is looking to extend her
jumping experiencesand
becomecompetitive in the
showhunter classes.
She enjoysthe connection
withher horse during
competitionandisaiming to get
someconsistencywith her ring
classes.
Water zone farewells pair
Two wise, old heads retired
from theAshburton Water Zone
Committee thisweek.
Former hydrologist and
passionate conservationist
John Waugh had servedfour
years andrununga rep Karl
Russell 10 years.
Bothwerepraised by
committee chairBill Thomas
for their ability to see and
respectopinions about water
that were very different from
their own.
Mr Russellremembered
earlymeetings with farmers
crossingtheir arms defensively.
In contrast, in his last meeting
the committee approved funds
for two farmers to improve a
creek and establish wetlands
on their properties.
Mr Waugh said action to raise
minimum flows in the
Ashburton River were to be
commended;water­takes from
the riverare beingreviewed by
Environment Canterbury.
He said even when the review
was complete, theriverwould
still be the most heavily overallocated
river in New Zealand.
Karl Russell and John Waugh at their final Ashburton Water Zone
Committee meeting this week.
Allowing flows to go lower
risked turningitinto aseptic
soupofalgae.
MrWaughsaid managed
aquifer recharge hadthe
potential to make asignificant
contribution to water
managementinCanterbury,
when combined withon­farm
actionstoreducenitrate
inputs.
He said high nitrate levels
hadbeendetectedback in 1982.
‘‘Ithas beengoing on for some
time and getting worse. It was
long beforethe dairying boom.’’
Helping hand for
Methven stream
A$100,000 project to restore
Mt Harding Stream at
Methven took another step
forward this week when the
AshburtonWater Zone
Committee agreed to fund
$50,000overtwo years for
work on the waterway.
Fonterraisalso
contributing $25,000 as the
stream catchment is one of
threeMid Canterbury
catchments ithas committed
to helping. Theothersare the
AshburtonRiver and the
Hinds drains.
Mt Harding Stream runs
throughabout25properties
and directly throughthe
Methven township. The
stream is visible to the public
and landowners themselves
arecontributing $25,000.
Landowners have been
riparian planting to enhance
biodiversity values, improve
instream habitatand help
interceptsilt and nutrients in
overlandrun­off.
Environment Canterbury
staffwill walkthe catchment
in December and January,
engagingwithlandownersand
developingaworkplan.
The waterzone committee
askedthat water quality
samplesalso be taken
regularly to see the effecton
waterquality in the stream.
Ecan landadviser Donna
Fieldsaid the 33km stream
eventually joined intothe
AshburtonRiver. More work
on the streamis likely to
include moreriparian
planting, removing barriersto
fish passageand instream
habitat enhancement. It has
historically supported koura
and fish. Supporters of the
project said it was alsoabout
ruraland urban landowners
and communities working
togetherwith asense of
ownership to have pride in the
stream.
BlackFriday.
Agreat daytobuy silver whiteware.
332L TopMount FridgewithDoor Cooling
Withsummer just around the corner,it’sagreat time to pick up anew fridge.The LG Inverter
Linear Compressor combines the air flow through the frontand back ventstokeep food fresher
forlonger.You better be quick, though —wewon’t be abletokeep this priceonice forverylong.
$799
lessthan
$10 perweekfor
24 months
interest free*
Limited Stock
9058437
Offers validuntil Tuesday1st December 2020,while stockslast, unlessotherwise stated. Some productsondisplayinselectedstoresonly–pleasecall0800 764 847tocheck availability.Personalshoppers only. *Apple, selectedcomputers, game consoles, gift cards,clearanceitems and somepromotionalitems arenot availableinconjunctionwith interest free offers. Flooring available on amaximum of 18 monthsinterestfree. Exclusions,fees,
terms, conditions,and creditcriteriaapply.Availablein-store only. Equalinstalmentamounts includeone-off booking feeof$45.00, annual fees of $45.00p.a. and securityregistration feeof$8.05, andexcludeinsurance. Currentinterestrate of 23.95% applies to anyunpaid balance afterexpiryof(any) interest free period.See in-store or visitsmithscity.co.nz/interest-freefor details.
SCWK31AC2