William Bates (son of 5* rider Christine and TD Matt Bates) won the EvA80J B on Lamondale Reveller
Photos by Britt Grovenor
An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Denman 2022 - order or view videos here
Events like Denman Horse Trials in northern NSW are where you will find Australian stars of the future, equine and human, honing their skills and it was quite the perfect weekend for eventing at Denman.
Organised by Gordon Bishop and his team, it was a jam-packed weekend under sunny skies at the Denman Pony Club grounds as many of the lower-level riders in NSW made the most of one of the few events to run after a very wet season around the State
Luckily Denman has not been too badly affected by the seeming never-ending wet stuff falling on the coastal areas, with any rain that has fallen just making the ground all the better for galloping across
With strong entries, Saturday saw the five Marsh Carney Saddlery EvA80 classes complete all phases with Tyler Kelly riding Gracia winning the Division A, Georgina O’Sullivan riding Wyuna Top Quality taking Division B and Matilda McCarroll riding Phisher Park All Too Royal winning the Division C.
In the EvA 80 Junior sections, Lydia Proctor riding Entally Whiskey No Ice and Alex Letts riding Willagong Bart went neck to neck the whole way, both finishing on their dressage scores of 29.10 but it was Lydia who took the win while William Bates won the Section B on Lamondale Reveller, also on a good score of 29.60
The stand-out score of the weekend however went to Catherine Baxter riding Koko Bean in the Bucas Australia EvA95A. Following up their win at Sydney International, they won at Denman on a cracking score of 19.5, adding nothing to their dressage score, leaving the very experienced Andrew Barnett and Felicity Cribb in their wake!
The CCN1* winner here last year, Andrew also took third place in the Tozer Air Conditioning & Electrical EvA95B behind Sandy Lucas and the winner Bethany-Jane Rainbow riding Lady Penelope while Olivia Fenton riding Kahean Trooper O’Hara won the Red Gum Saddlery EvA95 Junior
Olivia Barton and APH Sudoku
This year it was Olivia Barton and Craig Barrett who bagged the Lake Macquarie Designer Kitchens CCN1* classes. Olivia and APH Sudoku started in second place of the CCN1* Section A behind Heath Ryan riding Bobby Dazzler but an unfortunate 11 penalties at a frangible put Heath out of contention on cross country.
Olivia added just 1.2 time penalties to her dressage score to win on a score of 31.6 and also take third place on Sandhills Gem with Tasmania’s Bethany Hirst taking second place between them on board Sandhills Bliss
Craig Barrett, well known not only as a 5* winning rider but also part of ‘Sandhills’ team with his wife Prue, took the CCN1* Section B on board Bloomsburys Jack Flash.
Prue Barrett led the dressage in this class on another Sandhills horse – Sandhills Briar – but Craig overtook her on cross country, metaphorically speaking, with a double clear round while Prue took her time and added a few penalties for eventual fourth place
Andrew Barnett had to settle for second place riding Oscar Park Chisholm and junior rider, Tara Seppelt took third place on Rosthwaite Venice Beach
Craig Barrett and Bloomsburys Jack Flash
Another Junior rider had a good weekend with Mara McGavern taking both the Solid Engineering EvA45A riding MP Estella and the Fitzroy Farming EvA60A Junior on board Koorana Timeless Edition.
The Two Rivers Wine EvA60A and EvA60B were won by Carey Doran riding Kanandah Park Royal Double and Breanna Tillitzki riding Frankie while Lyndel Taylor took the Solid Engineering EVA45B riding Stoneybridge Thors
We’ll leave you with this great photo by Gordon Bishop, who takes some excellent pictures out and about in the countryside, as the sun goes down on another successful Denman event!
