In the Barrier Truth editorial department we constantly marvel at the number of varied sports played in Broken Hill, but there’s always room for more – welcome Ray Johnston, a retired trade TAFE teacher and local tour guide, who’s been invited to the Sydney Royal Easter Show as Chief Judge for the sport of equestrian tent pegging.
Yes indeed. Born in Broken Hill, and calling the far west region home for 73 years, Mr Johnston has been tent pegging for over 40 years.
Describing it as, “probably one of the oldest sports in the world I would think,” Mr Johnston says tent pegging was originally a military strategy.
“During the Indian wars, just before dawn, they would line up their horses in rows and columns and gallop down through the camps of the enemies,” he says.
“The first rider would pick up the first tent peg, the second guy would pick up the second tent peg and so on, then the tents would collapse within a matter of seconds and the infantry could then come in and finish the job.”
The aim was for all of the pegs to be dislodged at the same time, so line formations and precision were crucial.
With the evolution of horse warfare, particularly in World War I, tent pegging was just one exercise designed to keep horses and riders fit and ready for war.
From the 1960s and into the ‘70s it became a civilian sport in Australia.
“The police used the strategy to keep their mounted men active as well, which is where I first saw it,” Mr Johnston told us. He recalled a demonstration at the annual Broken Hill Show by the South Australian Police in about 1982.
“Personally, I haven’t been interested in other horse activities, and I’ve been riding horses all of my life, but I thought I’d like to have a go at this,” Mr Johnston said.
In the civilian sport, teams are made up of four mounted men, each armed with a nine-foot lance and a sword.
“There is a three inch wide peg 12 inches long driven three inches into the ground, and it sticks out about nine inches. From a standing start to a flat gallop, we use the lance and sword to hit and pull the peg out of the ground.
“Hanging off the side of a horse at full gallop with a sword trying to pick up a peg is very exciting, it certainly gets the adrenaline running.”
During the height of the sport locally, there were four teams operating out near the pony club, but Mr Johnston says he is now the last local involved with the sport.
“For just over 30 years, we ran the Outback Championships in Broken Hill, and teams from all over came to compete from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia,” he says.
During his time, he represented Australia on three occasions – twice in South Africa.
Back in 2010, he was selected to travel to India for the World Championships, and returned with Gold and Silver medals.
Shortly after his trip to India, he started judging the sport, and became a qualified judge a decade ago.
In September last year he judged the National Championships in Gilgandra.
“While judging we have given demonstrations each year at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.”
This year he won’t be taking any horses to Sydney. Instead, he will be taking more than 40 years of experience, skills, knowledge, and a deep passion for the sport he has devoted so much of his time and energy to.
