Megan Jones was participating at another major National Championships in October but she wasn’t competing at this one. Megan ( the one in the glittery hat!) was the coach for the South Australian eventing, combined training and jumping team competing at the 2012 Australian Interschool Championships hosted by Equestrian Queensland at the Toowoomba Showgrounds. We followed the SA team on their journey there and caught up with some of the Victorian eventing team members competing there
Molly Barry and Jumpin'Jack were representing Victoria Photo: Derek O'Leary
CLICK HERE for our coverage of the 2012 Australian Interschool Championships
Antoinette Inglis and Stirling
The focus on young riders continued that weekend with the Ranvet NSW Pony Club One Day Event Championships where sadly a deluge of rain on the Saturday turned the competition into what was essentially a combined training event after organisers were forced to cancel the cross country phase due to the wet ground. However another Beijing Olympic silver medallist, Shane Rose, helped put the smile back on the competitors’ faces as the guest speaker at dinner. Shane told his enthusiastic audience about the dedication needed to succeed and that success itself wasn’t all about having the most expensive horse, the best gear and the most lessons but that it was more about spending hours in the saddle – just riding.
CLICK HERE for our coverage of the Ranvet NSW Pony Club One Day Event Championships
It didn’t rain in Goulburn for the Baxter Boots NSW State Eventing Championships – it snowed. Lying in bed in Goulburn looking at Twitter on my phone (are you following us on Twitter? @eventfulifebook) I saw a tweet from Christine Bates with a photo of her horses covered in snow. What the ...? Yes, it was well and truly white outside. Neil Kennedy and the team at Lynton Horse Trials did a fantastic job to keep the show on the road (literally, actually building an access road for the horse trucks that were having difficulty getting in to the venue due to snow and slush).
Amazingly by the end of the weekend we needed sunscreen. Rob Palm won the new CCI 3* class here, Stuart Tinney and Pluto Mio (above) the CIC 3* and his daughter Gemma (who had been competing at the NSW Pony Club One Day Event Championships the weekend before) made it a family affair by winning the Junior Pre-Novice. AEL videoed the cross country here and the venue made for some great footage
The Germans won at Boekelo and took the overall title for the year
Boekelo in the Netherlands, which is always a great favourite with riders for its end-of-season atmosphere (read, PARTY!), drew a record-breaking 12 teams for the last leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing series.
There was drama on show jumping day when Olympic champion Michael Jung entered the day with a rail to spare over the world number one Andrew Nicholson, but the resilient Kiwi, riding Quimbo, put the pressure on with a clear round. It turned out to be a little too much for Jung and Halunke FBW and an eight fault round dropped them to second, giving Andrew and Quimbo the win. However Germany’s talented squad, which included two members of the Olympic gold medal winning team in London - Michael Jung and Ingrid Klimke – triumphed in the Nations Cup competition and beat the chasing New Zealanders by just 6.6 penalties.
Guiseppe della Chiesa (ITA), chair of the FEI Eventing Committee said he was pleased with how the countries had embraced the new Nations Cup format which would continue in 2013 whereas the FEI World Cup Eventing was withdrawn as a format for the following year.
CLICK HERE for our coverage of the Nations Cup in Boekelo
Libby Law captured Mark Todd and Alice Montgomery practising water jumps at Le Lion
If it had been a touch damp at Boekelo, it was positively pouring in France for Le Lion d’Angers Young Horse Championships where heavy rain and a deteriorating weather forecast forced cancellation of the event. Libby Law reported that it was heart breaking to see the organisers’ disappointment but she had fun anyway playing in the puddles with the eventers who were hanging around waiting to head to Pau for the final HSBC Classics Series event in the northern hemisphere
CLICK HERE for our articles and photos from Le Lion d’Angers
Luckily Les Etoiles de Pau was not rained out like Le Lion or Badminton earlier in the year. Andrew Nicholson crowned perhaps the best season of his long career with a win at the 4* event, the first leg of the 2012/2013 HSBC FEI Classics on Nereo and fellow New Zealander Jock Paget also had a great event finishing second. Michael Jung (GER) is another rider for whom 2012 has been a great year and he showed the strength in depth in his yard when second string Leopin FST finished third and indicated that he intends to bring this horse and his Olympic champion La Biosthetique Sam to Badminton in 2013.
William Fox-Pitt (GBR), the 2012 HSBC FEI Classics™ winner, showed he is not short of nice horses for the future either when finishing fourth on the youngster Bay My Hero and fifth with just one time fault on the stallion Chilli Morning.
Perhaps the biggest cheers from the large home crowd enjoying the welcome sunshine went to Astier Nicolas, sixth and highest placed French rider on Jhakti du Janlie. A former pupil of Andrew Nicholson’s, the young Frenchman said that the veteran New Zealander had taught him “focus, determination and hard work”. Australian Chris Burton also wrapped up a great year with a win in the CIC 2* on Graf Liberty (above)
CLICK HERE for our full coverage of Les Etoiles de Pau
Lindsay Honey with visiting judge Jennie Loriston-Clarke
Back in Australia Lindsay Honey won the CIC3* in fine form at Swan River Horse Trials at Brookleigh Estate near Perth, WA, while the legendary grey horse Kirby Park Irish Jester had his last start (in hindsight) at Reynella Horse Trials in South Australia. At the NCHTA Canberra Horse Trials John Twomey and Highly Recommended were the well deserved winners on the Horseland CIC3* after a fantastic cross country round topped by a super clear show jumping round.
CLICK HERE for our full coverage of NCHTA Canberra Horse Trials
John Twomey warmed up for Canberra at Jumping with the Wallabies
And when they weren’t busy eventing, eventers took on the show jumpers during a great weekend of show jumping, good food, good wine with a bit of rugby coaching thrown in – ‘Jumping with the Wallabies’ held at the beautiful Wallaby Hill in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
To relive photo memories from all events in 2012 CLICK HERE
Coming up in November; The big event of the year in Adelaide – the Australian International 3 Day Event follows the big shopping event of the year at Equitana Melbourne.
