Campdrafting at its very essence is a display of great horsemanship. It is a unique Australian Sport. It requires a rider to focus on and simultaneously navigate two animals with precision and fast judgement.
The competition begins with a drawn order of riders in the draft. A small herd of cattle, most commonly referred to as a “camp” are penned into a small yard.
The rider has to show their ability to cut a beast from the camp on horseback and show their control with at least two or three turns of the beast whilst blocking it from its herd.
The rider then calls for the gate to be opened and begins the set course.
The course consists of a first peg, a second peg and finally two pegs known as “the gate”.
The rider drafts the beast in a figure of eight around the first two pegs before finally coming through the gate.
If the stockwhip cracks, the round is over either because the rider and horse have let the beast get away or the allowed time has been reached.
Up to a total of 100 points are scored by horse and rider: Cut out is worth a total of 26 points; horse work up to a further 70 points; and 4 points for the course (2 points for the first peg, 1 point for the second peg and 1 point for the gate).
It is a remarkable sport with the first formal Campdrafting competition held not far from Warwick, at the Tenterfield Show in Tenterfield in 1885.
Clarence Smith, a cattleman and horse breeder, created the rules for Campdrafting and on the 120th anniversary of the event a monument was commemorated in his honour which can be found at the Tenterfield Showgrounds.