Where's the Aston Martin Andy?
It was time to hit the runway for the equine stars at Puhinui International 3 Day Event near Auckland today
The drizzly, cool day meant that plenty of the horses were feeling frisky as their rugs were whipped off and they were trotted up the two runways overlooking Manukau Harbour.
Some escaped their handlers while Sarah Young’s The Little Prince put on an impressive display of snorting (see video below) but the two that we would take home after their first trot were Nick Brooks’ For Fame and Stephanie Vervoort’s X Factor – both aptly named horses and both taking part in the iSpy Horses CCI2*
Twelve combinations presented to the Ground Jury for the Honda New Zealand CCI3* class and all sailed through without problems. Ginny Thompson is back with Star Nouveau to defend their title but she will have two other champions snapping at her heels; the 2016 One Day Champion Donna Edwards-Smith with one of our favourite eventing horses Mr Hokey Pokey and the 2016 National Three Day Champion Amanda Pottinger riding Just Kidding.
Sam Felton, just back from competing in Australia, has Ricker Ridge Escada who returned straight after Adelaide, in this class plus two horses in both the CCI1* and CCI2* and Clarke Johnstone’s protégé Jackson Bovill is having his first CCI3* start
Cuddle time for Amanda Pottinger and Just Kidding
Amanda got our vote today for the Best Dressed lady on the runway with her smart white hat (white hats were pretty popular today with Lucy Turner, Kirsty Sharapoff and members of the Ground Jury sporting them to mention just a few), blue jacket and, although it sounds boring, sensible shoes for wet weather and dancing with horses. We have a bit of a thing about plaits at the moment so of course Melissa Lovell (below) gets a mention
There was no doubt in our minds as soon as we saw him from a distance, that Andy Daines was the Best Dressed male. Forget Puhinui in the rain - this was an outfit to be worn whilst being driven around the sunny South of France, drinking champagne in an Aston Martin and Andy is one of the few that can pull it off (the effect, not the outfit)
There were a few anxious moments to add to the drama of the start of an event. Melissa Lovell’s Colombian Jack and Jessica Woods’ LV Hat Trick were held but accepted on re-presenting, although the CCI1* Ground Jury kept Jessica on tenterhooks for quite a while, and Madison Crowe’s Waitangi Pinterest, that placed second in the CIC2* at the One Day Champs and won the CIC2* at Rotorua Horse Trials this spring, was asked to trot twice.
Kimberley Rear (above) with Delta Legacy in the CCI2* Young Rider and Emma Broughton-Watts (below) with Brahan Stan The Man in the CCN95 add a splash of colour to a bit of a dreary day
All of the competitors now get ready for tomorrow’s dressage followed by hurtling around Tich Massey’s cross country course on Saturday. We checked out the course today - Libby’s 3* cross country gallery will be coming up soon - and it looks great; big, bold with the beautifully crafted fences you always expect at major events in New Zealand.
While the flow of the course is similar to previous years, there are a number of new combination questions for every level and it will certainly test the riders before they finish the end of this season and in the meantime Libby tested out the fences herself!
