The Oakbank Races is not only an iconic Australian event located in the stunning ranges of the Adelaide Hills, but is extremely close to my family. My Grandpa, which since his passing in 2015 has been passed onto my uncle and his family, have a beautiful farm in Oakbank just down the road from the racetrack, where he trains horses.

The Oakbank Races carnival in April is always such a fun weekend, with lots of families, rides and of course horses; atmospheric country races at its best. Every year there are protestors that stand at the main car entrance of the carnival protesting against the steeple chase. I went to the races on the Monday, however on the Saturday a horse actually died in the event.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-16/horse-death-mars-oakbank-racing/8446698

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/sa/2017/04/15/horse-with–horrendous–injury-euthanised.html

When I was watching the event, I was so stressed each time a horse flew over the jump as I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like witnessing such a traumatic situation. But it’s all part of it. I don’t really have a say in whether the steeple chase should be banned or not – of course it’s really risky and dangerous for the horse and the jockey, and according to the Sky News article “A total of 79 horses have died in Australian jumps races since 2006” which is actually a lot, so it’s obviously worth such a serious debate.

Nonetheless it was such a fun day 🙂