Australian Tent Pegging Cup

First presented in 1965 This competition was originally built on the skills required to pull a tent down rather than to put one up. According to the Australian Tentpegging Association, it was … a group of mounted soldiers would ride through an enemy camp in a pre-dawn raid, removing the pegs which held the tents in place, with the tips of their sharp spears. Foot soldiers could then attack the enemy as they struggled to get out from under the collapsed tents. In 1887 the first annual naval and military tournament was held in Melbourne “at the Exhibition Building and the Agricultural Show grounds, Newmarket”. The trophy is presented to the winning team rather than an individual or pair of riders. Winning teams came from the Mounted Police until the 1980s and then local riding groups. The last winners in 2001 were the Mornington Ladies.