It was raining in Victoria, there was flooding in Queensland but the gods smiled on the Australian equestrian wedding of the year in New South Wales last week as Shane Rose and Niki Chapman tied the knot.
The wedding was held in sunshine at the stunning location of The Sergeant’s Mess in Chowder Bay, Sydney. Set amidst native bushland, Sergeant’s Bay is surrounded by Sydney Harbour National Park and commands spectacular views of many of Sydney’s well known bays.
The ceremony itself took place overlooking the sea and as the time came for Shane to say his vows he was joined by the horn of a passing cruise liner whose captain obviously knows this routine well! Not content with several blasts of the ship’s horn he then went on to play the song “Pretty Woman” which could be heard by everyone on the shore! Many riders have had their horses join them at their wedding but there cannot be many who can claim that a cruise ship joined in!
“Pretty Woman” was certainly an appropriate theme as everyone agrees that Niki was very much the radiant bride.
“Niki looked absolutely stunning and Shane was as handsome as ever” says Sharon Ridgeway who is not only a good friend but also found Shane’s Olympic medal winning horse, All Luck for him
“I think the ‘Wedding of the Century’ was every bit as magic as we all hoped. The MC Jamie McDonald had us in stitches all night. The speeches were funny but sincere, and the band was awesome. They even did an ACDC song, complete with bagpipes courtesy of everyone’s favourite vet Brett Jones! A hugely fun night was had by all….”
“It was just the most superb wedding “ adds Karen Tinney “There was nothing more you could have wanted – fantastic location, wonderful guests, a very happy couple and even the weather was great!”
The wedding guests included the crème de la crème of the Australian equestrian scene. Shane’s great friend Stuart Tinney was the best man – a good choice as there is no doubt that Stuart is a man to depend on when a job is to be done – be it riding for the Australian team or getting you to ‘the church on time’! Stuart says that both Shane and Niki were very relaxed and really enjoyed their day.Those who have read An Eventful Life will know the unusual circumstances of Shane’s proposal of marriage to Niki (if you haven’t read An Eventful Life, I’m not going to tell you, you need to read the book!) but his wedding speech was apparently very tender and didn’t mention beer at all!
The couple are now honeymooning (with friends!) in Japan. When they return, Shane will resume his riding and competition plans aiming for London 2012, including a possible trip to Burghley later this year to see if he can better his third place gained there in 2006.
I’m sure that you join me in wishing Mr. And Mrs Rose a long, happy and successful life together!
Thanks to Analisa Hegyesi, Michelle Robson and Karen Tinney for the wonderful photos
