By Jenel Hunt
Back in the day, Harry Hilton – born Edward Henry Charles Hilton – loved campdrafting so much that he always donated a prize to go with the Hilton Trophy, which is awarded to the most successful lady competitor of the Tannymorel Campdraft.
Those days are long gone. After Harry (once known affectionately as the Mayor of Tannymorel) died, his wife kept the tradition going for a while and then it became too hard for her so the Hiltons as prizegivers went by the wayside … although the trophy continued to be contested, won and engraved with winners’ names.
Enter 2023 and Terri Gilbert, the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society secretary. Terri had started campdrafting and she saw the Hilton Trophy one day. And although the family doesn’t live at Tannymorel any more, having moved to Warwick, the idea was born.
“What about starting the prize up again as a family thing?” Terri asked her aunt Betty Wells, the daughter of Harry Hilton.
Betty might have thought it was all over too long ago, but she knew how much her children had loved their grandfather. Sure enough, they jumped at the chance and on the weekend (16 April) the grand tradition of a member of the Hilton family giving a prize to go with the trophy was reinstated at the Tannymorel Campdraft.
For Betty, it was a proud moment as she watched her daughter Kylie McMahon present the trophy to Monique Buttworth, of Kingaroy, who won the title of the most successful lady competitor of the day. Monique, who is the daughter of Geraldine and Terry Dwan (the campdraft association’s president), also took out the Maurice Browne Memorial Novice Draft. Betty stepped up to present the prize, a western gear bag.
“It felt good for us as a family to contribute again,” said Betty.
For the rest of the results and photos from the Tannymorel Campdraft, see inside.
