WARWICK is regarded as the home of campdrafting in Australia, and while the Warwick Gold Cup is the most sought-after trophy in the sport, the title of "birthplace” of campdrafting must go to Tenterfield, a small town some 115km south.

Tenterfield is where, in 1885, the first official cattle drafting competition was held, along with a set of rules drawn up by local cattleman Clarence W. Smith of Boorook Station, east of Tenterfield.

Smith's rules soon became accepted by cattle drafting competitors wherever the event was held, and those rules still form the foundation of campdraft competition judging today.

Clarence Smith

Now widely regarded as the "father” of campdrafting, Clarence Smith was the eldest son of Robert and Henrietta Smith, who arrived in Australia from England in 1838 aboard the ship Coromandel.

After leaving school, Clarence became a book-keeper for a hotel and butchery at the silver-mining town of Boorook.

His reputation as a horseman of note came about as a result of his skill as a rider and his wins in competition, but also, more importantly, because of the quality of the horses he bred.

Boorook Station, where Clarence lived until his death at the age of 96, still has some of the roughest cattle country on the east coast of Australia, and even into his 80s, Clarence was mustering.

He went on to become president and patron of the Tenterfield Show Society and always applauded the show society for its courage in becoming the first agricultural society to conduct a campdraft in conjunction with their show.

He died on July 30, 1957.