Stuart Tinney - winner
Record crowds packed into Victoria Park in Adelaide to watch the best eventers in the country go head-to-head in the 2011 Deloitte Australian International 3 Day Event. Now part of the international HSBC FEI Classics™, the event is the most prestigious eventing competition in the southern hemisphere with a prize pool of more than $100,000 on offer. With the who’s who of the Australian eventing circuit taking part, the event also forms an important part of riders’ preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. Olympic gold medallist Stuart Tinney took out the HSBC CCI 4* class riding Panamera, with Beijing silver medallist Sonja Johnson (Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison) and Emma Mason (F1 Pharinelli) rounding out the minor placings. Placed 4th going into today’s competition, Olympic gold medallist Tinney, placed pressure on the top order when he and Tim Game’s warmblood x thoroughbred mare Panamera (by Staccato) jumped a text book clear round. “She is a very good jumper and I knew if I rode her well enough then I had a good chance to jump a clear round, but I didn’t expect to win the class,” said Tinney.
Sonja Johnson and Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison
Fellow Olympian Sonja Johnson (Albany, Western Australia) and Nikki Brooks’ athletic thoroughbred Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison retained second place with a four fault round. Johnson, who has only been back riding since mid-September following breaking her pelvis in June this year was thrilled with her result. “A clear round would have won me the class but the big picture is London and considering I have been back in the saddle only eight weeks I am very pleased. Hopefully it has put us right back in the mix for London.” One rail down for 29-year-old lawyer Emma Mason from New South Wales and F1 Pharinelli was good enough to keep them in their overnight position of third place. F1 Pharinelli was awarded the Peppermint Grove perpetual trophy for the best Australian based horse of 2011 as decided by the national selectors.
Emma Mason and F1 Pharinelli
“It would have been great to jump clear considering it was that close, it would have been nice to win,” said Mason. “There was a bit of pressure there as Stuart had just jumped the most beautiful clear round of the day. The horse (F1 Pharinelli) really tried and that was the best he could do today.” Overnight leader Shane Rose had a round he would prefer to forget. Taurus lowered four rails dropping them to 5th place. Despite a disappointing showjumping round in the CCI 4*, it wasn’t all bad for Shane with the Olympian having a clear round in the Bates Saddles CCI 2* with Virgil to win the class on 50.40 penalty points. Sonja Johnson had to settle for the bridesmaid tag once more, finishing in second place with Belfast Mojito on 55.10 with Annabel Armstrong and Sentry Vision rounding out the minor placings on 59.60. In the Logan Floats CIC**, Christine Bates left her competitors for dust taking out the top spot with 46.70 on Delago.
The next placegetter on 63.20 was Jade Findlay and As Tully, with Cassie Low and Contango Columbus finishing in third place on 64.50. Held as part of the CCI2* competition, awards were given for the Horseland Young Rider competition which this year was taken out by Makayla Wood and Just Corona on 65.5 penalty points. In second place was Isabel English and Feldale Mouse (67.8) and Joseph Waldon and Spring Vale All Black in third on 71.1. Craig Barrett (Branxton, NSW) won the Anna Savage Memorial Award for best and fairest rider of 2011. F1 Pharinelli, ridden by Emma Mason, was awarded the Peppermint Grove Memorial Trophy for best Australian based horse of the year as determined by the national selectors. Event Director Gill Rolton praised the new venue layout and said having the Deloitte Australian International 3 Day Event featured in the HSBC FEI Classics ™ has taken it to a new dimension. “Having this event now part of the HSBC FEI Classics ™ gives us great profile in Australia and around the world including being part of FEI TV, who beamed images around the world. “This year’s event is the culmination of many years of hard work to get it to this point - but we only want to grow and build it from here. “I think it will be fantastic to think the likes of Mary King and William Fox-Pitt those internationally recognised riders who have a big steam of horses will come down to Adelaide to get the points for the HSBC FEI Classics ™ - it will really showcase the sport,” she said. Photos courtesy of Toni-anne Collins. Click on each photo to enlarge [gallery link="file" order="DESC"]
