In the Barkly, one of the Northern Territory’s most popular outback events in underway this weekend. The ABC amateur horse races, names after surrounding stations, has been running for more than a century.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00I'm here at Brunette Downs Station, about three and a half hours drive northeast of
00:06Tennant Creek in the beautiful Barkley cattle region.
00:09This is the ABC races, an iconic event in the Northern Territory, one of the biggest
00:14events in the Northern Territory's Outback calendar.
00:17More than a thousand people are expected through these gates here this weekend, coming from
00:22all parts of the country, not just the Northern Territory.
00:25Some competitors from interstate and plenty of tourists and grey nomads taking a peek
00:28at what the Territory has to offer as well.
00:31Now this event is historic.
00:33It's in its 114th year this year, and the name ABC races takes its name from the local
00:39stations around the Barkley that make up the event and have helped shape it over the years.
00:43So A, Alexandria, B, Brunette Downs Station, where I am now, C, Cresswell Downs, and that's
00:49now part of Walhalla Station.
00:52But the event is still a really big deal, and it gives people who are on stations, crew
00:57members, families who are living remotely, an opportunity to come together, spend time
01:01with each other, crack a beer, share some stories, and show off their horsemanship skills.
01:07But it's not just the races, there is also a rodeo that happens here, there's camp drafting,
01:13there's a tug of war happening, and there's also the Battle of the Barkley, which gives
01:17local station crews an opportunity to band together to complete a series of challenges
01:22and compete to be the best station crew, a highly held title.
01:26Now it looks like it's going to be another fantastic weekend here to cap off another
01:31great season across the Barkley.