Showjumpers prepare to compete at 2023 Dubbo Show

This is according to assistant ringmaster Sandy Cox of Dunedoo, who will be setting-up the grounds for the showjumping and hacks to kick-off bright and early on Friday, May 19.

He said showjumping had been included in the show "forever and a day" and the Dubbo Show Society was moving with the times with course builds and gear.

"We've kept improving it over the years so the ring looks a lot more modernised with modern jumps," Mr Cox told the Daily Liberal.

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"It's fantastic stabling here at Dubbo - you park right near your horses.

"Everyone loves it here, it's a very friendly show. Everybody has a great time and like being close to their horses and we all get along because we're all in one big close-knit group."

The competitions will be run by the Dubbo Eventing & Showjumping Association (DESA), and secretary Belinda Lloyd-McMahon said it is "an exciting sport to watch and it is one of the only - if not the only - sports in the world where men and women compete on equal terms".

"It's a wonderful sport for spectators to watch because you're watching the relationship between horse and rider," Ms Lloyd-McMahon said.

"The horse doesn't speak English so we need to communicate with them with our bridles - there's a lot of trust between horse and rider, you're not watching just a sport but a real relationship inside in the ring."

Assistant Ringmaser Mr Cox said showjumpers came to shows based on the quality of the courses, and Dubbo's was being put together by an esteemed course-builder from Sydney.

"That's one of the main things showjumpers look for, it's good course builders so their horse gets the best opportunity," Mr Cox said.

The Dubbo Show is the first showjumping event after the Sydney Royal Easter Show and Mr Cox said it was an opportunity to relax, test out "green" horses and prime-up more experienced rides.

He said the grand prize would be awarded on the Saturday afternoon, with jumps beginning from 1 metre 35 centimetres - not far under the 1 metre 50 centimetres they begin jumping at the Olympics.

On Saturday night, the "really exciting" six-bar event takes place, which has horses jump six fences in a row, two strides apart.

"They jumped a metre 70 last year on the six-bar which was really impressive," Mr Cox said.

The showjumping is open to children and adults (there is a juniors section) and the calibre of the horse determines the event in which they compete.

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There are even thoroughbred classes, specifically for retired race horses.

"We're giving people an opportunity to do something with their retired race horses. That side of show jumping is getting bigger and bigger - it allows the weekend warriors to have a horse and be competitive without having to compete with the top-class horses," Mr Cox said.

Dubbo Regional Council helps keep the grounds green and ready for riding.

"The grounds keepers keep it watered, and leading up to the show, depending on what our weather reports are, we make a bit of a call, how much water we put on it, and we hope we get it right and don't have a massive rainstorm," Mr Cox said.

There is $10,000 up for grabs in the showjumping competitions.