Small but mighty - Bols Armstrong wins Sydney International CCI4*-L Photo courtsey Stephen Mowbray
The final day of competition at Sydney International Three-Day Event thrilled spectators in the Olympic arena with the contest tight right down to the wire.
The John Vallance designed jumping course proved challenging, resulting in considerable movement in the standings after the jumping phase. “This is a jumping course. The time was tight which had a big impact on the result. I really enjoyed building for the event, it was great to be able to have the horses jump in the big Olympic arena which really allows the horses to move along” explained John.
Jumping legend and Australian Eventing Team Jumping Coach, Nelson Pessoa, attended the event to observe the Oceania Championship Team combinations ahead of the competition in Taupo from 10th-12th May.
“The jumps are light and easy to knock down. Showjumpers usually have a rest day before a competition and they are wrapped in cotton wool, but the eventers have to give a big effort the day before so they are tired and every fence could present a problem,” said Nelson of the course.
The nail-biting final test saw Annabel Armstrong jump into the lead on Quaprice delivering a clear round with only 0.8 of a time penalty in the Macarthur Automotive CCI4*-L, bumping weekend-long leader Sam Lyle from the top spot. After having a strong hold on first position since the start of the competition, Sam finished the event in 2nd place on BF Valour and in 3rd place on Superclass.
“I am over the moon, the horse couldn’t have been better. Everything went according to plan which was to tick one phase off at a time and to do the best we could through the phases. She was excellent. The course offered good questions that allowed you to answer them if you had a good plan” said Annabel.
It was a battle of the Olympians in the Bates Saddles CCI4*-S with Stuart Tinney riding Celebration producing one of only seven clear jumping rounds and accumulating only 1.6 time penalties.
Overnight leader Shane Rose and Pumpkin dropped two rails to finish in 2nd place followed closely by High Performance Next Squad rider Andrew Cooper and Oaks Onyx in 3rd.
The Bates Saddles CCN4*-S was dominated by Oceania Australian Team combinations with Emma Bishop and CP Issey Miyake retaining their competition-long lead, despite having two rails, to finish on top of the podium. Fellow Oceania team members Jade Findlay riding Oaks Cordelia and Amanda Ross riding Dicavalli Diesel rounded out the top three placings, respectively.
Our full 4* report coming up soon from across the days and across the classes ………..
