The miniature horses paraded around the Bendigo Showgrounds on Friday, Saturday and yesterday for the Miniature Horse Association of Australia’s Victorian state championships.

Miniature Horse Association of Australia treasurer Brian Neal said miniature horses were worth anywhere from $3000 up to about $30,000.

“It depends on how good they are,” he said.

“The attraction is that if you’re into big horses, you’ve got a lot of work involved with the big horses.

“These are a lot easier to handle.

“A lot of people who have been into horses all their lives, they can’t do it anymore and they want to keep involved in horses so they buy the miniatures and they can continue showing.

“It’s also a great way to bring young children into the sport of horses.”

Mr Neal said owners and their horses had travelled from all over Victoria for the event.

“We’ve also got competitors here from South Australia too and some from New South Wales,” he said.

“They love it, they absolutely love it.

“A lot of these horses from here will then go on to NSW, to Sydney, for the Australian Championships which is a five day event held over Easter.”

Mr Neal said a miniature horse had to be 34 inches or under.

“We also have what we call our small horse section which is horses that are measure over 34 inches, up to a maximum of 38 inches, and they’re generally our breeding stock,” he said.

“We breed down from those.

“But we also provide show classes for that small horse.”

Sue Bardsley from Heathcote watched on as her horse Mini Mac Hopes and Dreams was led around the arena by Rhonda McKnight from Kangaroo Flat.

“They’re just great animals,” Ms Bardsley said.

“And this is a great event.”