Champion (Rodney Martin) and Reserve Champion (Kate Taylor Wheat) of the Novice Championship Photo: Franz Venhaus
The final day of the Saddleworld Australian Dressage Championships started with the Birds Equisport Novice Championships. This always a great class as you get to the new kids on the block (horses, that is). Before getting into the final results, I thought it might be nice to mention a few to watch out for in the future.
- Furstin Friendship - 185cm brown mare (Oldenburg), Fidertanz/Piroschka, owned by the Farrell Family and ridden by Brett Parbery
- Stockharlin - 177cm bay stallion, Stockholm/Argentina, owned by Vicky Newham and ridden by Judy Dierks
- Larapinta Orlando - 166cm black gelding, His Highness/Larapinta Alicia, owned by Janice Usherwood and ridden by Sally-Ann Quigley
- Flowervale Lorenz - 170cm chestnut gelding, Florencio/Larapinta Dutchess, owned and ridden by Kate Taylor-Wheat
- Sugarloaf Rubinell - 170cm chestnut mare by Blue Hors Romanov, owned by Lynette Gilbert and ridden by Hayley Gilbert
The scores also told us that there are a number of quality horses on the way up - with 6 combinations over the 70 mark. The combination to secure the Birds Equisport Novice Champion was Rodney Martin on Andrea Beatty's horse SS Dante, and the Reserve Champion went to Kate Taylor-Wheat on Flowervale Florenz.
The CSG Medium Championship also was similar to the Novice classes in respect to introducing spectators to some of the younger horses climbing through the ranks. A few of the horses in this competition that stood out were the following:
- World Royal - 176cm black stallion (Oldenburg), World of Dreams/Ruling Royal, owned by Belcam Stud and Dierks Training Centre and ridden by Daniella Dierks
- Fioretta - 162cm bay mare (Hannovarian), Ferrero Rocher/Samsara Hit, owned and ridden by Nicole Tough
- SS Dante - 165cm bay gelding, Welfenadel/Donner Carina, owned by Andrea Beatty and ridden by Rodney Martin
The CSG Championship ended up going to Daniella Dierks on World Royal, and the Reserve Champion went to Melissa van den Berge on Karen Waterman's Dornkaart.
Unfortunately, in the Pessoa Dressage Grand Prix Special Championship there were a couple of horses scratched - Maree Tomkinson on Diamantina and Nadia Coghlan on Carlyle. Sheridyn Ashwood and her KWPN stallion, Prestige VDL, did a beautifully relaxed test. Although there were a couple of mistakes in the changes, Sheridyn still managed to score 69.125 which secured her first place. Heath Ryan and Regardez Moi came second, scoring 67.458 and Sue Hearn and Remmington came third with a score of 64.458.
Winner of the PSG stars of the future - Janina Kletke on Bluefields Flore Photo: Franz Venhaus
The most exciting competition of the day was the Equestrian Australia Prix St Georges Stars of the Future. There is very difficult criteria to qualify for this event and it is only the top 12 that get to ride. As a result, the spectators get to see the top competitors at this level and the riders also get to compete amongst the best. It makes you realise the diversity of type and movement - all very different but all impressive. Once again Janina Kletke riding on Bluefields Floreno grabbed the first place (70.474), second went to Rodney Martin on SS Sonata Hit (67.816) and third went to Brett Parbery on Aber Hallo 29 (67.737) - thank God the judges were there to make the decision because form a spectators point of view it looked like it could have been any of them.
By 5pm, all the arenas were empty, stables were being cleaned and a trail of horse floats filtered out onto the highway. It was a great 5 days of competition with over 200 horses and 150 riders. Can't wait till next year!
Article by Scott Pollock
