Shannon Galloway on Day Walker Photo courtesy Jan Sutherland, Take The Moment Photography
Relentless rain resulted in many withdrawals prior to the cross-country phase of the Bay of Plenty Horse Trials on Sunday, with most of those who did run their horses treating the very wet conditions with due respect and riding accordingly.
Fortune favours the brave, with the only competitor in the Pub Charity CNC2* Plus class to go cross-country reaping the rewards. Jake Barham had 20 penalties for a run-out with Atlan, and incurred 32 time penalties, finishing with total penalties of 102.5, but took the spoils, and will smile all the way home to Hawkes Bay.
There were seven withdrawals before cross-country in the Dunstan Feeds CIC2* class, with one retirement on course, but the eighteen competitors who finished deserve credit for the way they handled the conditions. Shannon Galloway, who was seventh overnight on Day Walker, jumped clear with 10 time penalties to win on a score of 46.3.
Fleur Rohleder on The Alchemist and Nick Brooks on For Fame both finished with final scores of 49.4 penalties, second place going to The Alchemist whose 10.8 time penalties were closer to the optimum time than For Fame, who had 17.6 time penalties for third place. Beth Wilson was a close fourth on Alto et Audax, producing the fastest round with 7.2 time penalties for a final score of 49.5 penalties.
The Reyna Equestrian CIC1* class saw four of the sixteen starters withdraw, with Kelsey Leahy winning on former stakes winning racehorse Showcause. They held third place overnight and were the only combination to complete inside the time allowed to finish on their dressage score of 31.3 penalties.
Samantha Mynott was second on Ipso Facto having added 1.2 time penalties to their sixth place overnight for a final score of 34.6 penalties, with Greer Caddigan third on Gymnastik Showdown having added 6.4 time penalties to their fourth place overnight to finish on 38 penalties.
Both Greer Caddigan and Beth Wilson are Young Riders who have rocketed up the Mitavite Young Rider Series leaderboard to hold second equal positions on Gymnastik Showdown and Alto et Audax respectively with 34 points, overtaking Lucy Turner and Carbon by one point.
Shannon Galloway’s win on Day Walker in the Dunstan Feeds CIC2* class has seen them move into second place in the Amateur Rider Series, but Susan Le Mesurier’s third place on Sparky Malarkey in the Marks & Ewen CNC1* has moved them to the top of the table.
Kelsey Leahy’s win on Showcause sees them take top spot in the Pro-Am Rider series, with Samantha Mynott moving into second place with Ipso Facto after placing second behind them in the Reyna Equestrian CIC1* class.
Article by Virginia Caro
