It’s the return of the mankini-wearing equestrian star – but there’s a twist.
And if that sounds painful, allow us to explain: The event that turned Australian rider Shane Rose into an international phenomenon is back this weekend, only with a different Olympian set to don the skimpy swimwear made famous by Borat.
Shane Rose will pass the mankini baton over to Chris Burton at the Wallaby Hill Extravanganza this year.Credit: Graphic: Aresna Villanueva
Last year’s “mankini-gate” scandal piqued the interest of global media when Rose, a three-time Olympic medallist, was briefly stood down by Equestrian Australia after wearing the outfit during a fancy dress event at the annual Wallaby Hill extravaganza in the Southern Highlands.
Rose was suspended pending an EA disciplinary process after a complaint was made regarding the revealing garment. There were fears a suspension would wreck his chances of qualifying for the 2024 Games, but the veteran was found not guilty of breaching the sport’s code of conduct and given the all clear to return to the saddle, before going on to compete in Paris.
Rose will miss this year’s Wallaby Hill event, to be held on Sunday at the property near Robertson, due to a scheduling clash – but the mankini baton will be passed on to 2024 Olympic silver medallist Chris Burton, who Rose endorsed as an “adequate replacement”.
“I’m well and truly over that,” Rose said of last year’s saga. “Unfortunately something else clashes with it [this year], unfortunately I miss out on a bit of fun this year. Maybe next year.”
Wallaby Hill mankini-themed kitchen apron and calendar.Credit: Wallaby Hill
Event organiser and Wallaby Hill owner Alex Townsend has taken the opportunity to leverage the publicity, leaning into mankini-themed merchandise including calendars, tea towels and kitchen aprons to raise money for Movember, a charity that focuses on men’s mental health, testicular and prostate cancer.
“We’re running the same event this year that we did last year,” Townsend said. “It’s always a lead-up event for the season, so it’s not very serious; hence there’s a dress-up class. The reason we run the event is to mainly bring spectators to the sport and make it a fun day.
“Last year, Shane had full costume changes, so when he came out with not much of a costume [on] in the last one, everybody was entertained and found it very amusing … it’s just meant to be a fun spectator event, and that was what it was and then obviously it turned into mankini-gate.
“And then from there, [event sponsors] Bowral Kobota were like, ‘Go on, let’s make this about raising awareness for men’s health’.”
The mankini-themed show jump at this year’s Wallaby Hill Extravaganza on Sunday. Credit: Wallaby Hill
Townsend will raffle off the event’s mankini-themed show jump, which she had specially designed, with all proceeds going to Movember.
Burton, a two-time Olympic medallist, said he was happy to take over Rose’s mankini-wearing responsibilities and raise money for charity while doing it.
“I actually think that men’s health and Movember is a wonderful charity, and I’d like to get behind it,” Burton said.
“I think that young men can easily be forgotten about in regards to health and their mental health. When we look at our fathers, that generation were encouraged not to speak about mental health and therefore often physical health, and so I think it’s a wonderful thing to get behind.”
Chris Burton after winning individual silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.Credit: Getty Images
While Burton is prepared to embrace the situation, he doesn’t think he’ll be as bold as Rose last year.
“ I don’t know if I’m as brave as Shane,” Burton said. “[I’ll be wearing] Something similar. I think the whole thing [was] laughable. [What’s] the difference with men’s wrestling and the outfits they wear, or swimmers and the outfits they wear, I thought it was a funny thing.
“We all enjoyed Shane’s humour, and the truth is, now it’s focussing on a charity that’s actually quite dear to my heart.”
