QLD Youth Aldridge Equestrian Challenge

08/09/2026

🐴 QYAEC 2027 IS COMING! 🐴

We know you've been asking… 👀

2027 dates coming soon.

Same focus on fun learning.
Same inclusive environment.
Same opportunities to build friendships.
And we're already getting excited 😀

QLD Youth Aldridge Equestrian Challenge 2027

Education • Inclusion • Wellbeing • Community • Courage

01/07/2026

Please follow the instructions in the post to arrange purchases. Thank you Isabella 💜

QLD Youth Aldridge Equestrian Challenge

📸 Arena Edge event photos are now live!
https://arenaedgephotography.mypixieset.com/

Event Gallery is now ready to view and purchase via the link in this post. I hope you enjoy reliving all the special moments from the event! 🐴✨

Please note: Watermarked images are strictly not to be used, downloaded, screenshot, shared, or reproduced in any form without purchase. These images remain the copyright of Isabella M Photography / Arena Edge.

Unauthorised use of watermarked images may result in legal action for copyright infringement.

Thank you so much for supporting my small business — every purchase helps me continue capturing the sport we all love 🤍
https://arenaedgephotography.mypixieset.com/

To purchase photos - you must select a photo package from shopping cart first then you can add selected images - any questions please contact me.

30/06/2026

A huge thank you to Bess and her band of happy helpers who set up, cleaned up & packed up all the equipment over the week.

Apologies if we have some names wrong. We appreciate you & your efforts.

Bess Brokenbrough
Nicky Cavanagh
Kathy Kunst
Erin Mathews & her mum and dad - Denise and Steve. Plus Erin's husband Ethan.
Rachel and Elana Hyne.
Kat Green.
James Scott for making sure the gazebos were dry before packing up over the weekend, not to mention manure clean up & various other jobs.
Also Ash from the Aldridge P&C and his truck.

Also thanks to Dan Lourigan & David Burns from Aldridge who helped with a number of jobs, including managing the Aldridge Yr 8 students who came to help. We appreciate their help, especially being thrown in the deep end, with most of them having zero livestock experience.

Thank you to Elani Venardos who didn't volunteer, but was "voluntold" to help all over the place 😆 which she did without complaining.

And a massive thank you to Zane Haas who helped everywhere & anywhere he could all week.

It takes a lot of people to pull this event together & even more to clean up afterwards. We are sincerely thankful to each & every person who put their hand up to help 👏

29/06/2026

💜🐴 The weather couldn't make up its mind over the week of the Qld Youth Aldridge Equestrian Challenge but a few misty showers didn't dampen the spirits of our courageous riders. ☔️
🌈And we were lucky to have the rainbows glow through the clouds.

💪🏆Thank you again for every single parent and grandparent who hustled and kept their teams together to make this event flow. You are all wonderful.
130 riders
14 year levels
10 events
4 days

27/06/2026

Our next shout out must go to this pair of legends 🤠👏

To say James & Tammy Scott are dedicated is an understatement!

They are the kind of people who would quite literally give you the shirts off their backs. Not only did they spend the entire week at QYAEC helping, encouraging and supporting students and their horses through every challenge, but they're still at the Showgrounds this weekend hosting a Southern Cross Xtreme Cowboy Racing competition while also finishing the pack-up and clean-up from our event.

Rain, hail or shine, they just keep showing up for others. Whether it's giving up their time, sharing their knowledge, building confidence in young riders, or quietly doing the jobs that nobody sees, James and Tammy lead by example.

People like this are rare, and our event simply wouldn't be the same without them.

From all of us at QYAEC, thank you both for your incredible generosity, passion and commitment. We are so grateful for everything you do. 💜🐴👏

(Photo credit: Kyah Hall)

27/06/2026

Thank you so much to Mandy Probyn for travelling back to Maryborough for our event.

27/06/2026

Do you have a group photo?
Drop it below ↩️
Or send it in. 📨

Yr 4
Yr 9

26/06/2026

While we finish packing up & starting to recover from QYAEC 2026 there are many people to thank.

A massive shout out to Dave & Michelle from Hebbermann Contracting for supplying our cattle for Ranch Sorting again this year.

Without their generous support, we simply could not afford to have cattle at our event. We believe its a valuable educational tool to have live cattle to work with & are lucky to have access to this quiet, well loved herd for our kids to practice on in a safe way.

Thank you to Chris Dale who pulled double duty, carting the cattle as well as running clincs & judging. And thanks also to the team from Queensland Performance Horse Association for taking such good care of the moo moos as well as providing such high quality instruction 🐮

26/06/2026

💜🐴These kids worked up an appetite riding horses for 4 days.
Thank you Domino's Pizza Maryborough for the pizza vouchers donated to all our riders.

📸 Got a pizza photo? Drop it below ↩️

26/06/2026

Stay tuned for photos from Arena Edge Photography 💜

Well… safe to say I’ve spent the last two days surrounded by horses, dust, boots and plenty of talented riders and honestly, I’m not mad about it 🤠🐴📸

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing the Aldridge Interschool Equestrian Challenge, capturing a mix of events, and wow, there were some seriously impressive horse-and-rider combinations on display. So much talent, partnership and beautiful riding across the board from some talented young riders.

Just a little note while I sort through the mountain of photos: I always do my best to capture as much as possible, but as a one-woman show covering a big event like this, it’s simply impossible to catch every single rider, round or moment (I wish I could clone myself… sadly not yet 😂).

That said, I captured a lot over the past two days and I’m so excited to start sharing them with you all soon!

QLD Youth Aldridge Equestrian Challenge