An Eventful Life is filming all competitors on cross country at the
Puhinui International Horse Trials - find out more here
Sam Felton has very nearly won at Puhinui International in the past but finally she cracked the big one, winning the Honda NZ CCI3*, providing a high note for not only the end of year but also her re-location to the UK
It has been a testing few days for the organisers and riders at Puhinui where the weather gods flung some wild, wet weather at Puhinui Reserve near Auckland in the lead up to the event and everyone has been playing catch up ever since
After a tough day on cross country yesterday, caused more by the deep going than the level of difficulty of the new course designed by Ewan Kellett, three of the nine CCI3* riders that completed Saturday’s cross country didn’t compete in the final phase. Matthew Grayling and NRM Trudeau, fourth after cross country, withdrew prior to the second horse inspection, Emily Cammock presented Shaw Lee, third after cross country, at the second horse inspection but was vetted out, and Corey Wood’s Pick Up Line was withdrawn just before the show jumping
That left five combinations to jump in the makeshift arena down on the cross country course where the footing was good; possibly the first time in the 18 years that the Puhinui International Horse Trials has been running that the final show jumping phase for all classes was held out of the well-known main arena where the competitors returned for the final prize giving and traditional water jump victory lap
Sam Felton and Ricker Ridge Divine Right
In the end, it was Sam Felton and the 11 year old bay mare Ricker Ridge Divine Right, who took the CCI3* honours on a score of 38.9; they had one rail in hand over Maddy Crowe and Waitangi Pinterest after the cross country and Maddy gave Sam more room to breathe with two rails down but still finishing in second place (48.7). Only two combinations jumped clear - Sam again on Ricker Ridge Rui (with two time faults) and Nick Brooks on For Fame
An impressive performance from Maddy Crowe and Waitangi Pinterest to finish second at their first CCI3*
While Sam had jumped clear on her first ride, she had one rail down on the mare, admitting to a rush of blood on the last line as she neared victory! She is now looking forward to a short break before a big year, starting with her wedding and then a move to the UK for an anticipated two years
Sam Felton
Sam also took third place riding Ricker Ridge Rui in the CCI3* as well taking second place on Ricker Ridge Riley in the CCI2*, a class won by Abby Lawrence on Anonymous, but we’ll have more to come on that and the CCI1* winner, Amanda (Muzi) Pottinger in articles coming soon
