Two Australian Champions and a salt of the earth Murrurundi Legend have been unveiled as winners of Scone Horse Festival Awards during a VIP function hosted by Arrowfield Stud tonight.
2019 Scone Horse Festival VIP
Bob Paton took out the top honour, named as Scone Horse Festival VIP for his outstanding contribution to equine events in Murrurundi.
For more than 20 years Bob has overseen the maintenance and upgrading of the Rosedale Equine Complex. Using his own equipment and volunteering thousands of hours of his time, Bob has watered, fenced, welded, harrowed, ploughed and cleared up after storms so that events like Murrurundi Bushman’s Carnival, King of The Ranges, Sheep Dog Trials, Rodeos and Barrel Racing and the Murrurundi Pony Club all have a place to call home.
Bob is also on hand during events to help out any way he can – manning the canteen, on the BBQ or running a ring.
“Rosedale Equine Centre is the beating heart of Murrurundi and it doesn’t operate without Bob Paton,” said Scone Horse Festival President David Gatwood.
“Thanks to Bob’s extraordinary dedication Murrurundi is able to host major events that inject money into the town, that bring thousands of people together and that give people an opportunity to pursue their passions. As a community we are indebted to Bob and I know he’ll get the cheer he deserves when he leads the parade on Sunday.”
After a lifetime of breaking-in and riding horses the 70 year-old Vietnam Veteran was pleasantly surprised by news of the award.
“I’m a bit humbled by it to be honest. I don’t even know what the criteria was for the award but I do know that there are plenty of other worthy candidates out there,” Paton said.
Photo top: Bob Paton
2019 Scone Horse Festival Young Achiever of the Year
One of Australia’s brightest young Polocrosse talents Mitch Wamsley was named the 2019 Scone Horse Festival Young Achiever of the Year.
In 2018 Wamsley was a member of the undefeated NSW Under 21’s team at the Australian Polocrosse Championships in Perth and was part of the Bunnan team that won the NSW Club Championships.
“The Scone Horse Festival Awards always shine a spotlight on the great breadth and depth of equine talent in our district. Mitch Wamsley is a star on the rise with a very bright future in Polocrosse and his progress is being keenly followed by many of the horse enthusiasts in the area,” Gatwood said.

2019 Scone Horse Festival Horse of the Year
The best ‘Official Horse and Best Individual Horse’ at the Australian Vaulting Championships for the past three years, Hunterview Sinatra ‘Frank’, has claimed the Festival’s Horse of the Year title.
Bred and raised in Scone and now owned by the Boyle family ‘Frank’, is a long term favourite of Vaulters at the Scone Vaulting Club and is widely regarded as the best Vaulting Horse in Australia. The pinnacle of his career so far has been receiving an 8.85 from International Judges at the CVI in Adelaide.
“Frank has been recognised as a champion at state and national level and we are delighted to acknowledge his legendary status at our very own Scone Horse Festival.
“Scone has a strong Vaulting Club and Frank’s a big part of the appeal.”
