When we decided to re-launch An Eventful Life website in March 2012 as a website dedicated to eventing, we knew it was going to be an exciting Olympic year but we certainly didn’t know how the year would pan out. In the sport of eventing, there are always amazing highs and lows and many of the riders, particularly this year, have referred to the ‘rollercoaster’ ride they are sometimes on. This doesn’t just happen to the elite of the sport – amateur riders have similar experiences and we often see the ‘triumph and disaster’ at local weekend events as much as the international biggies.
Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden at Tonimbuk Photo: Toni-anne Collins
March 2012 saw the coverage of our first events, with the very first event being Tonimbuk Horse Trials in Gippsland, Victoria. After a slightly awkward start which saw Alison Duthie and myself nearly being ejected from the cross country course prior to the event (“You want to do what? A preview of our event? Why?”) leading to the thought that we might get T-shirts with the slogan “Don’t you know who we are?”, things improved dramatically from here. Tonimbuk is a really well attended event with plenty of Victorian riders, a good attendance from South Australia and the occasional NSW visitor too. Run at the Tonimbuk Equestrian Centre which boasts two huge indoor arenas as well as great outdoor arenas and a wooded cross country course, it was no surprise to see Megan Jones here and even less of a surprise when she took out the first two spots in the CCI3* on Kirby Park Allofasudden and the legendary Kirby Park Irish Jester to kick off her 2012 Olympic team selection campaign.
Taking third and fourth spot were two names that continued to pop up throughout the year; Rob Palm riding Koko Black and Murray Lamperd riding Under the Clocks. Another Victorian rider who was to go on to have a great year was Will Enzinger who not only won the CCI 2* on Ruban Son but also placed third and fourth riding Wyuna Clear Image and TS Jamaimo. Will also took second place riding Wenlock Aquifer in the CCI 1* behind Adam Benson and Brookwood Park Feuergrass
To see our full coverage of Tonimbuk Horse Trials 2012 CLICK HERE
Murray Lamperd and Under the Clocks through the Quarry at Wandin Photo: Toni-anne Collins
Two weeks later we were still in Victoria at the Yarra Valley event which has been well known in Australian eventing for many years – Wandin Horse Trials. Owned by John and Angela Anker (parents of eventer Emily Anker and parents-in-law of Will Enzinger) this event not only boasts a cross country course with the dreaded Quarry but also one of the best cocktail parties on the eventing circuit.
This year course designer Ewan Kellett, John Anker and the course building team had done a lot of work around the Quarry to make it much more horse and rider friendly, especially for the lower levels. It certainly seemed to ride well and the only person to have problems there in the CIC 3* was Will Enzinger (proving that he isn’t allowed to school through there prior to the event!). Murray Lamperd and the beautiful black horse Under the Clocks took home the honours, having had a great cross country round with only 3.6 time faults. Will took first and third in the CIC 2* however on Ruban Son and Wyuna Clear Image, with Rebekah McDougall and ESB Irish Patience splitting Will’s rides. Chelsea Priestly won the CIC 1* riding Blameitonthebear, a talented horse she was sadly to lose later in the year.
To see our full coverage of Wandin Horse Trials 2012 CLICK HERE
Shane clinches the CIC 3* at Albury - wearing a saddle this time
The action moved up to the NSW/Victorian border for the Albury Wodonga Horse Trials at the very end of March. Here the big guns came out to play with Olympic medallists Shane Rose and Stuart Tinney bringing a couple of horses each to contend the CIC 3* and indeed Shane took the honours (CIC 3* and bareback jumping) while Stuart had to be content with third on Pluto Mio. Olympic hopefuls Emma Mason and Emma Scott were also in the placings in this class but it was Christine Bates who had a good weekend overall taking the CIC 2* (Adelaide Hills) and CIC 1* (Corambo).
To see our full coverage of Albury Wodonga International Horse Trials CLICK HERE
Clayton and Bendigo at Fontainebleau Photo: Pauline Chevalier
Over in France, Germany set a high standard to win the teams event in the first of the new FEI Nations Cup competitions. Fontainebleau was the first fixture of the new six-leg FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing series, which is open to all nations fielding one team of three or four riders. Germany's Michael Jung took the first and second places in the individual competition while Australia's Clayton Fredericks riding Bendigo was third; sadly the Australian team failed to complete
To see our full coverage of the FEI Nations Cup at Fontainebleau CLICK HERE
To relive photo memories from all events in 2012 CLICK HERE
Coming Up Next: We cross the seas to the Trans Tasman at Kihikihi, cover events in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia plus the first HSBC FEI Classics of the year - Rolex Kentucky
