Trainers Ray Louden and April Adsett try out the new leg curl and leg extension machine

“We are now well and truly up with the best of community based gyms,” says gym trainer Ray Louden. “The gym has all the equipment we require, and since moving to the Maleny Showgrounds, we have a lot more space.”

Apart from a new rack of dumbbells, benches and two new bikes, a leg extension and leg curl machine was recently installed. This machine helps those with lower back problems because it works quadricep, hamstring and glute muscles without activating the hip joint or affecting the lower back.

The students were taken through various techniques, including self defence moves and sparring, and all were graded to the next rank, which means a new belt and new techniques to learn.

There were over 150 students in attendance from all over the Sunshine Coast. Master Rhee is the father of Tae Kwon-Do in Australia, having introduced the Korean martial art to Australia in 1970.

If you are interested in fun, fitness and learning self defence, come along and take advantage of the Unlimited Free Trial currently on offer.

Rhee TaeKwon-Do is held at 5pm every Tuesday and Thursday at the Maleny Community Centre on Maple Street.

Phone 0419 496 160 or 5447 0166 for more information.

John Pirie holds up his Boxing Kangaroo flag

John Pirie is a Hinterland resident and Maleny chiropractor. He is also a Canadian ice hockey ‘tragic’ who flew to Vancouver to join the biggest congregation ever to witness a Winter Olympic ice hockey event. John told the Hinterland Times how an Australian icon helped Canada win the gold medal.

A few days before my departure, a news item in an Australian newspaper caught my eye. The Aussie athletes at the Olympic Village had hung a ‘monstrous boxing kangaroo’ flag outside their quarters in the village. The International Olympic Committee wanted it taken down because the flag wasn’t ‘official’ The Aussies refused to budge, and eventually the flag stayed. I decided then to take one of the flags with me and hang it from the balcony of my apartment in Vancouver. Trouble was, I couldn’t find one anywhere on the coast so flew off to Vancouver empty handed.

The Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey tournament is one of the toughest tournaments to win in sport. The Canadian team got through to the quarter final, which was against Russia – the tournament favourites. This would turn out to be the biggest game of the tournament.

The post arrived on the morning of the game and to my surprise it contained a notice indicating a package was waiting for me to pick up at the local post office. About an hour before I had to leave for the game, I dashed over and picked up the package. It was from my wife Pippa. Inside was a
giant 6 foot boxing kangaroo flag. I decided to take it to the Canada/Russia game for good luck.

Our seats for that game were the best we’d had. Two rows from the ice and right behind the Russian net for the first period. I decided to ‘give it’ to the Russians. I got that boxing kangaroo flag up on the glass at ice level and started to put the ’hex’ on the Russian goalie in the warm up -“Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy Oy Oy”. It worked! Canada scored four goals in the first period and ended up crushing the Russians 7-3. The boxing kangaroo had come through.

That flag is now hanging from a doorway in our Hinterland home and I can’t help but smile with the memories it brings… go Canada go!

Of the seven events Hannah contested, she had results in five, including one Champion trophy (‘Youth Handler’), two Reserve Champion titles (‘Youth Rider’ and ‘Western Pleasure’) and a top-10 placing in ‘Youth Show Hunter’ and ‘Youth Bridle Path Hack’.

It will probably be Hannah and ‘Tricky’s’ last year riding together, as she will need to move up to a larger horse to see her through the next few years of competition.

“I’ll end up growing out of Tricky,” Hannah explained.

“I’m hoping to get a nice Galloway, about 14-2,” she said.

It’s already been a successful year for the busy rider, with a Champion trophy (10-14 years) from the Summer Show in Caboolture on the shelf at home.

The gutsy 10 year old says she has to thank her mum for her love of all things equestrian.

“My mum used to show horses. She was really good,” Hannah said proudly.

Hannah, who has been riding since she was four, was excited just to have the opportunity to ride at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre, where the Sydney 2000 Olympics were held.

“I’ll keep going and just see where it gets me,” Hannah said.

“I’ve got the Pan Pacs coming up at Ipswich in April,” she said. “My goal then is to compete at the Ekka.”

Photo: courtesy of Bright Stars Modelling.

Well, they’re not the words that 15 year-old Stacey Bentley would use, nevertheless, she is the best young Paint Horse rider in the country, and this striking young woman will soon leave for Fort Worth, Texas to prove her own worth as one of the best riders of the Paint Horse in the world. Stacey spoke to Hinterland Times editor, Michael Berry about this rarely known, but growing sport.

“Competition is like a western type of show with the emphasis on what they call Western Pleasure”, says Stacey. “You wear what the cowboys wear – leather stock curved saddles with shiny silver ornaments. The aim is that the
horse goes around in a relaxed manner with you being as relaxed as you can too, but having full control. The horse goes around on a long rein; they have to look willing. There’s a bit of an art to it.

Photo: courtesy of Agile Photographics.

“You ride around the outside of the arena, the judge will stand in the middle and they will call out to walk or to jog or lope which is a form of cantering but slower. They judge on how well trained the horse is, how well you ride yourself with position and leg aids.”

Paint Horse riding has become the second biggest show horse event in the US. The special quarter horse and thoroughbred  breed has striking white patches ‘painted’ over its body and the genuine  Paint Horse rider looks like a cut-out from Wild Bill Hikock’s Wild West Show.

When you see her all dressed up Stacey Bentley wears her wide cowgirl hat, silver belt buckle, wide chaps with frills down the leg, wrangler jeans, high boots and rhinestone covered shirt. A good paint horse rider must also learn equitation – a form of etiquette in the saddle. You have to look prim and
proper, relaxed but not sloppy.

Stacey is raising money for her airfares and expenses to Fort Worth in June when she will be in a team of four under eighteen year-olds.

Photo: courtesy of Francene Neuendorf.

“When we get there we literally draw a horse out of a hat”, says Stacey. You only have about 40 minutes with the horse before your event. So, you’ve got to be able to ride any horse, adapt and do your best. You might get a horse
that has been trained completely differently to what you’re used to, so there’s a bit of luck and some strategy to it to be the best rider that you can be.

“They also have a team relay on foot where you run from station to station having to piece together a bridle, then to another and say, put together a map of the world. Then there’s knowledge of the horse competition, a teams
parade with a set theme. Then they add up all the results. Last year Australia got fourth.”

Stacey was born into a horse-riding family. Their Kunda horse stud in Peachester has its own ring and stables and Stacey trains and rides her own paint horse called Odette. Stacey’s grandmother and mother have both been
champion riders and their trophies from decades past literally line the entire lounge / dining room of the grandparents’ home.

“My mum rides, trains and breaks paint horses, so I was kind of born into it”, says Stacey matter of factly. I started competing when I was 12. I have been to the state and national championships every year since then. In the last two years I have got high point junior youth (14 and under). At the state show I got high point junior for two years and high point youth overall (18 and under).”

Is there a secret to Stacey’s winning form? “Well, you see some people riding around who have such plain, scrunched up expressions. I enjoy myself and the bond that I have between me and my horse, Odette.”

“Presentation is the key”, adds Stacey. “I make sure all my tack and clothes are clean and I am fit well. And I pay attention to things like hair, make-up, clothes, etc. If you come into the arena on a dirty horse, with a bad outfit you will not place; the judge won’t even give you a second look.”

Stacey, who is a Year 11 student at Beerwah State High, is also doing a retail traineeship. She rides 4-5 days a week and when she leaves school she has ambitions of going back to America to work as a ranch farmhand.

Win or lose in Fort Worth Texas, one thing is sure. Stacey has her hands firmly on the reins of her future.

LIZZIE YORKSTON is into her third year of a Bachelor of Human Movement degree at the University of Queensland. She wants to be a senior PE teacher and apart from keeping fit herself she has to study human physiology. Lizzie has organised her own gym program at the well-equipped Maleny Gym and thinks keeping herself fit is simply part of her own career path. For the first few

years that path will probably mean teaching PE to children in Queensland country schools, something this young person is quite cool about.

Patrick Campbell is in Year 12 at Maleny High this year and at 16 he is already an accomplished and dedicated sportsman. He has won several school swimming records, but his focus is now as a sprinter. At a zone carnival last year he achieved 11.3 secs in the 100 metres which gave him a buzz and made him realise that he had the speed to at least qualify for the Asian National Games.

Patrick trains 4-5 times a week at the Maleny Gym under the guidance of personal trainer Dan Clarke. His personal challenge is to improve his upper body stature and build up his hamstrings – the key leg

muscles for a sprinter. Patrick intends to build up slowly through low level

competition and see where his personal fitness will lead him. Of course Year 12 will be a busy one for Patrick who knows he has to carefully arrange his studies alongside his personal fitness program and his part-time job of junior swimming coach at the Maleny pool. But then Patrick, like Lizzie, is well able to stretch himself to his outer limits.

Maleny Community Gym is located at the Maleny Showgrounds. Contact trainer April Adsett Ph: 5494766 or email: apriladsett@hotmail.com

Among its many benefits, Rhee TaeKwon-Do promotes self discipline, health & fitness, moral values and personal growth, while improving confidence and encouraging self reliance. Rhee TaeKwon-Do is an Australia wide organisation, with 12 branches on the Sunshine Coast.

“Every 3 months our Master Instructor, World Master Chong Chul Rhee, visits the Sunshine Coast, allowing students the opportunity to receive instruction from a World Master.” said Nathan. “This is a benefit unique to Rhee TaeKwon-Do”.

You’re invited to come along to the Maleny Community Centre on Maple Street Maleny at 5pm on Tuesday or Thursday and take advantage of the Unlimited Free Trial currently on offer. Phone 0419 496 160 or 5447 0166 for more information.

www.rheetaekwondomaleny.com

The Red Bull race takes paragliders over the dangerous Alps

A hazardous paragliding adventure across Europe
Many people believe there is no adventure left in the world, but Lloyd Pennicuik is living proof that adventure is where you find it. Lloyd is an adventure athlete who is about to take off on the most dangerous and most gruelling race yet thought of.
In July Lloyd will join 30 other international paragliders who will fly, run and stagger 818 kms from Salzburg to Monaco. This 20 days and nights, non-stop  adventure is over the snow-capped Alps, with turning points in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. Athletes must carry their flying equipment at all times which weighs a hefty 20kg. Hopefully, they finish on the beautiful Mediterranean Coast with the winner the first to fly, walk or run across the line.
Lloyd Pennicuik is one of the super fit and highly skilled international paragliders who has been selected to contest what’s known as the “Red Bull X Alps” adventure. He is the only Australian amongst athletes from around the world from Germany to Japan.
Residents of the Hinterland may have seen Lloyd floating off the ridges of the Range. He flies regularly with the Conondale Flyers and he is now looking for sponsorship for this expensive ($40,000) leap into the unknown. He spoke to the Hinterland Times about the enormous physical demands of the ‘Red Bull’.

Lloyd steers his glider by simply pulling down on the lines in each hand

“I found sky-diving rather boring. You go up, jump out and it’s a big rush for a bit then it’s all over quickly. I started with flying trikes, a powered hang glider, then I jumped into hang gliders. I got fairly good pretty quickly and entered the 2001 world championships in Spain after only competing for about two years.
It’s this amazing mental game you play when you are up in the air. As soon as you’re flying across country, you’re looking for these invisible thermals, invisible parcels of hot air rising that’s rising up. You’re looking at the cloud conditions, what the winds doing, what it’s doing when it snakes up valleys.
“Generally you’re up for two or three hours. I do a lot of competitions. I did a flight once from Widgee up near Gympie all the way up past Chinchilla, 200kms in a straight line, that took me five and a half hours. I only landed because I wasn’t sure whether anyone was coming out to pick me up.
Paragliders  basically sit in a padded bag. They navigate by GPS in a little electronic cockpit unit that sits in their lap. It also tells them whether they’re going up or down in foggy weather.
A race involves taking off from a set point and then turning at points which are set into the GPS. Race goers have to fly within a radius of those turning points and then to a finish line. You get scored on the speed which you have flown the course. You fly at about 40km an hour. You can speed them up to 60kms an hour and you steer them by pulling down on a couple of lines, just like a parachute.
“There are massive distances in between turning points and when you land, you pack all your gear into a back pack and start running. And it’s non-stop night and day. We have a GPS tracking device on us that sends data via a every 15 minutes to the Red Bull’s (sponsor) internet site. So there is live tracking the whole time. We also have one supporter who can drive a vehicle and feed you. We are also allowed to sleep in the vehicle.
The Red Bull race is always a gruelling test of stamina says Lloyd.
“This is a non-stop, full-on race. If you can stay awake 24 hours a day, then you just go for it. You can only fly during daylight hours so that during the night I was running all the time. You have to be fit. I ran between one and two marathons a day every day. The prize is 10,000 euros this year. This is the hardest endurance race in the world, and one of the most dangerous , taking off in turbulent conditions, three hours sleep a day. It took me 17 days to complete the race last time and I was averaging 3-4 hours of sleep a day. You’re either running or flying. Mentally, it’s just ridiculously hard.

 “It’s ridiculously expensive and I am still paying off the last race”, says Lloyd. “I have a website and I am raffling off my wing from the last competition.  I would appreciate more sponsorship”
Contact Lloyd Pennicuik on email: lloydpennicuik@hotmail.com

Previous dances were a great success for the club and a lot of fun for local families.  Single and family tickets are available which include a BBQ dinner and adult and children’s dance sessions including rock & roll, line dancing, barn and square dancing.Everyone will go into the draw for lucky door prizes and there will be a prize for the best country dress.   Cost is $20 for adults and $60 for a family. 

Tickets are available at Blackall Range Financial Services and Brady & Metcalfe.For more details contact James on 5472 7869.