Gemma Tinney will be riding John and Jane Pittard's Annapurna
The Horseland CCI2* at the Australian International 3 Day Event also incorporates the Bates Young Rider Championship so the class tends to feature a combination of young stars and more experienced riders on their younger horses. With no really big names – not an Olympian in sight – and some of the better known riders’ horses not showing great form in the lead up to this event, the field is pretty open.
Despite this four of the more experienced riders to keep an eye on are Katja Weimann on BP Maximus, Andrew Cooper on Reduction, Emma Mason on Currabeha and Sam Lyle on Silent Destiny; their horses may not be showing the best form recently but these are all riders capable of pulling a rabbit out of a hat at the right time
As we mentioned in our CCI4* Form Guide, it's easy to look at recent performances but, without knowing the strategy behind them it's hard to say how much indication it gives. Having said that, here we go with our Ones to Watch for this class ......
Gemma Tinney and Annapurna
The 11 year old mare Annapurna has been to Adelaide twice before while ridden by Gemma’s dad, Olympian Stuart Tinney. The mare, a half sister to Stuart’s Rio horse Pluto Mio, was second here in the CCI2* in 2013 but he retired her on cross country in the CCI4* last year and Gemma took over the ride for 2016.
19 year old Gemma and the mare have clicked well together, winning the CCI1* at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event (MI3DE) this year on their dressage score of 44.10 but were eliminated at Goulburn recently for being over the time allowed on cross country
Andrew Barnett and Bradgate Park Dante
Andrew Barnett and Bradgate Park Dante
Andrew and the nine year old chestnut warmblood gelding are often the ‘bridesmaid’ at competitions and must be knocking on the door of a big win.
They were second to Gemma Tinney at MI3DE and were second at Goulburn CIC2* recently, adding just 1.6 time penalties to their dressage score to finish on 47.10. Although usually very consistent in the cross country, they had a little blip on cross country at Canberra recently with an elimination but seem to have put that behind them with the good result at Goulburn shortly after
Luke Jones and Music
South Australian rider Luke Jones and the eight year old thoroughbred Music were second in the CCI2* at MI3DE and it would be a real crowd pleaser if the local rider could do well again on home soil in Adelaide.
A busy architect, Luke has only had one international level start on Music since MI3DE to finish 12th in the CIC2* at Werribee, adding just time penalties to their dressage score. But we know that this ex-racehorse horse can make the time when Luke decides to go for it. He does need however to pull off another smart dressage test as he did in Melbourne
Shenae Lowings and Venture Sky High
The young Western Australian rider and her 13 year old WB/TB have been going very well this year with a 3rd at Camden CIC2*, 2nd at Sydney CCI2* and a win at Wooroloo CIC2* but picked up 20 penalties at their last start at Pinjarra in WA.
In 2015 Shenae finished 10th in the CCI2* here on her other horse Ballyhoo (who she is competing in the CIC3* this year) having withdrawn Venture Sky High after the dressage so this will be their first jump around the cross country
Shenae and Venture Sky High win at Wooroloo
Jessica Rae and Rascal
At seven years of age this is one of the younger horses in the field but one to watch. The warmblood/thoroughbred cross by Regardez Moi isn’t named Rascal for nothing “He can still be a bit tricky and cold backed when you first get on him but once he’s worked through that he’s just great. He’s naturally talented and finds it all quite easy so I’ve just got to be careful not to push too hard too fast”
This pair has finished third in the CIC2* at Sydney, second in the CIC2* at Tamworth and eighth at the recent Goulburn CIC2* with just cross country time penalties added to their dressage score of 50.6
The Dark Horse
Rob Palm and Halcyon’s Dark Secret
The 10 year old mare that won the CIC1* at Sydney in April just hasn’t been in form lately. She had a good start in the CCI1* dressage at MI3DE with a score of 41.5 but two stops on cross country ended their run; if Rob can get her humming along again they could be in with a very good chance
Rob also had Koko Popping Candy entered but the mare has just been sold to last year’s CCI2* rider Amanda Ross so maybe we’ll be seeing them next year?
The Best Plaits (and we don’t mean the horse)
The rider with the best plaits on cross country day will be Jess Grosmann but that is not the only reason she is One to Watch. Jess and the eight year old Equus Spencer finished sixth in the CCI1* at MI3DE on their dressage score of 47.6, won the CIC1* at Albury earlier in the year on their dressage score of 43 and should be in the mix
Look out for these plaits flying on cross country day - Jess Grosmann (pictured here on Belmont Backstage)
