After a two-year wait, Montanna and Chanel Allwright's preparations for the Interschools ACT State Championships have gotten off to the perfect start.
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The sisters, who are both members of the Crookwell Pony Club, competed in the Sutton Park Jumping competition last weekend, in which Chanel came first and Montanna fourth in the 45cm division.
It was the second time this year that they have competed at Sutton Park, with near identical results (Chanel placed first and Montanna third) in March.
Their mother, Kelly Allwright, said the competition was valuable experience for both girls, who are aiming for the ACT Schools tournament in October which has not been held since 2019.
"The Sutton Park competition is for good jumpers who are trying to start out their horses," Kelly said.
"It's a great place for kids to start their jumping. The girls compete against adults there, there's some really experienced riders there as well."
Both Chanel (15) and Montanna (11) have received "really great" feedback from prominent coaches, Kelly said, and have shown promise in equestrian events since they joined the CPC four years ago.
"The girls are practicing all the time, Montanna more so than Chanel because Chanel goes to Trinity in Goulburn," Kelly said.
"Montanna rides seven days a week as long and hard as she can, three to four horses a day. They're both very committed, Chanel is just a bit time poor.
"They're very thankful to the Crookwell Pony Club, because they started the girls off on their riding adventure."
In 2019, Montanna came first in her age division at the ACT competition, and is looking forward to the opportunity to defend her title.
The younger Allwright sister is not solely invested in showjumping; she also competes regularly in barrel racing, and even recently won the junior Golden Buckle at the Tableland Tin Spinners competition.
The girls have managed to develop their skills so quickly, in large part, due to the efforts of the coaches at the CPC.
"Coach Dave Culley teaches them most of the time," Kelly said.
"Dave's pushed the girls hard and helped them in all aspects of riding."
CPC secretary, Jo Grove, praised the girls for their achievements and said the club knows they can go a long way in the sport.
"Chanel and Montanna have been with the Pony Club for a few years, they're a pleasure," Grove said.
"We at the club know that they are very talented and are excited to see what they can achieve."
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