Trotting out for annual horse show

A STAPLE attraction, or stable attraction, of Kryal Castle’s calendar of events is set to return next month.

Now in its seventh year, the Baroque Horse Festival will offer all things equestrian across two days of entertainment following an opening feast on Friday 16 February.

Festival director Lisa Leitch established the event in 2015 and said it’s about celebrating the Baroque era’s impact on horses in Europe during the late 16th to early 18th century.

“There’s nothing like it in Australia,” she said. “I always thought it would just do so well at the castle as it’s so fitting for it.

“Everything changed during that Baroque era, everything from horse tact to the types of horses we used. It’s a very interesting era to capture.

“We didn’t want it to be a competitive event. We wanted it to be a fun, pleasant day for volunteers and families.”

The preceding feast will include live entertainment from local act Twilight Gypsi while the following two days will include attractions like baroque horse demonstrations, children’s entertainment, and horseback archery.

More than 13 Baroque horse breeds will feature in the event including several bred by Ms Leith and her husband Phillip who is Kryal Castle’s experiences director and resident knight.

The pair have lived at the castle for 11 years and have been breeding baroque horses for nearly two decades.

Mr Leitch said the festival has grown in popularity each year.

“When it first started, it was almost an in-house sort of thing like a special day for us and now we have people who’ll fly interstate and book accommodation a year in advance,” he said.

“We have people coming now from the state as well as into New South Wales and South Australia bringing their own horses to the event.”

Tickets to the Friday night feast can be found at bit.ly/47wMU2U while bookings for the festival itself can be made at bit.ly/3HcgqR5.