Madeleine Theobald and Mr Flintstone
An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Mornington Peninsula Pony Club Horse Trials - find out more here
The Mornington Peninsula Pony Club Horse Trials held in Victoria last weekend had the real feel of a ‘long format’ about it with the competitors doing dressage and cross country on the first day and then finishing up with show jumping on the Sunday
On a weekend when storms with possible hail were forecast for the coastal region south east of Melbourne, the weather gods were kind with the rumbling thunder that could be heard on Saturday moving off into the distance and the black clouds dropping just a few showers before passing by
The classes included Pony Club and Open levels 1-5 with Madeleine Theobald and Mr Flintstone taking the Open Grade 1. They started with a good dressage score of 24.4 and, although they added time on cross country and some show jumping faults, they couldn’t be caught
Tarah Lawson and Jive Jaye
Tarah Lawson’s Jive Jaye was second after the dressage in the Open Grade 2 but this lovely grey horse added nothing to that score to take the win. Jive Jaye may have needed a little encouragement into the water but it was otherwise a foot perfect cross country ride from the pair
Bradgate Park is a prefix on some horses doing very well at International level with Andrew Barnett and Bradgate Park Grafenhurst, now ridden by Alanna Malkoc, has that stamp of a very impressive horse. Alanna and Bradgate Park Grafenhurst were also second after the dressage but they took the win on that score of 21.30
There was a bit of a traffic jam at the water complex just before they got there but Bradgate Park Grafenhurst had no hesitation at all to jump into that water!
The winner of the Open Grade 4 attracted our attention as soon as we saw him getting ready to warm up. The 10-year-old, 15.2h palomino Appaloosa gelding TV Pierre (Pip) ridden by Lauren Brewer won the Open Grade 3 on his dressage score of 10.8 (yes, that’s 10.8!) and we had to find out more
Lauren Brewer and TV Pierre
“I have had him since he was a very unbalanced and green five-year-old” Lauren told us “We are members of Keysborough Equestrian Club and mostly compete in dressage, currently Level 2, and have just started our jumping career. He's a very honest, sweet horse!”
“I had a fantastic weekend, I couldn't have asked for a better performance from Pip - he kept a happy and enthusiastic disposition the entire time, despite challenging weather conditions and a large number of horse and rider combinations. I did not expect a win at all – I’d set very realistic goals for myself and one included maintaining a canter throughout most of the cross country course to avoid time penalties as Pip is still building his confidence and he struggles to open up his canter during long stretches”
“Because we normally compete in dressage, I focused on desensitising him to the world outside of the dressage arena in our training leading up to the event. That included bush trail riding, when the task was to expose him to many different visual stimuli and ride over uneven ground and hills. At home, we also practiced long canters on the straight where I encouraged a straight a forward motion to build his strength and stamina. His honesty and willingness to please is his best character trait and, being a quick learner, he loves trying something different”
The training certainly worked and Lauren had a huge smile on her face as she came over the last fence of the cross country (watch their cross country ride here)
The Open Grade 5 was won by Abbey Mamers riding Diverbrook Silhouette on another great score of 15.5 while the Pony Club Grade 5 was taken by Leyla Crowhurst of Mentone Pony Club riding Ollie
Leyla and Alix Kelly tied for first place after the dressage on a score of 10 but Alix had a refusal on cross country while Leyla added just one rail in the show jumping to win on a score of 14
The Pony Club Grade 4 was won by Hastings Pony Club Sara Leitch and BPS I’m Obsessed (17.5) and the Grade 3 was taken by Chloe Windt riding Jack Daniels Whiskey (26.30)
An experienced combination, Katelyn Thompson and Kendalee Gangster won the Pony Club Grade 2 on their dressage score of 31.30
