A smartly dressed ground jury (albeit with one in shorts – we do love Christian’s take on Aussie fashion) greeted the competitors for the final horse inspection in the morning sun in Adelaide. The final trot up is always an emotional affair with riders, grooms, owners, supporters and spectators all collectively holding their breath as the horses and riders put their best foot forward.
For some, it was a case of the show was over before it had begun. In the 2*the overnight leader Shane Rose chose to withdraw CP Qualified, meaning that the very dapper Will Enzinger and Flowervale Maserati moved in to pole position. Natalie Siiankoski moved up one place from third but sadly Isabel Houghton’s fourth placed Mohito was vetted out. Sam Lyle and Mudcake also withdrew.
The 4* trot up was a fairly quick affair with all combinations passing except for John Twomey and Highly Recommended who were in fourth place after the cross country.
In yesterday’s Press Conference, Event Director Gill Rolton commented that, although the numbers were low in this year’s CCI 4* due to the Olympic year schedule, the CCI 2*competition here is giving a large number of up and coming riders a taste of truly international competition. With the debate about whether riders should be based in the Northern or Southern hemispheres still being aired, this level of event in Australia is crucial not only for our elite competitors but also for the less experienced riders and horses.
The crowd at Adelaide may not be as big as that at Badminton or Burghley but it is certainly the biggest that the riders see here in Australia. The support of an international sponsor such as HSBC through the FEI HSBC Classics Series is also a really important factor in making an event like this happen in Australia.
Today, with the focus on the main arena, the spectators gathered in the shade of the Heritage Grandstand on one side of the arena or the 5 Star VIP Marquee and the Eventer’s Bar on the opposite side. The 36 riders left in the Horseland CCI2* kicked off the final day at 10:30am and the tension was palpable as the final few cantered in to the arena.
There were 11.8 penalties separating the top six riders but Will Enzinger, the leader had 8.8 faults in hand over second placed Natalie Siiankoski. Kirsty Douglas and Cushavon Crackerjack jumped a beautiful clear round as did second placed Natalie Siiankoski on Smart Show Off putting the pressure on Will.
The stunning black Flowervale Maserati had an early rail and the third last fence but that was the lot and Will emerged a happy and deserving winner. Will’s wife Emily is currently in hospital and Will jumped off his horse and straight on the phone to her, while owner Georgia Connelly sobbed tears of joy “I’m so happy for him and the horse” she said “It’s been a long time coming”
Will and Flowervale Maserati
While the 4 Star riders prepared for their moment of truth, the 5 Star Marquee served a wonderful lunch with (of course) plenty of South Australian wine. John Kyle was the Master of Ceremonies for the traditional auction while Paul Tapner (who appears to have a penchant for media) presented a session with Olympians and eventing stars Chris Burton, Sam Griffiths, Wendy Schaeffer, Andrew Hoy and William Fox-Pitt.
Paul Tapner and Sam Griffiths discuss fatherhood
During his chat with Paul, William suggested that the HSBC Planks, the last fence on the 4* showjumping course designed by John Vallance, could be one of the trickiest on course and boy, was he right (surprise, surprise!)
Then it was down to the tense finale; for some of these riders, today represented the chance to finally make their mark at 4 Star level and place in a major international class. Andrew Cooper riding Guest of Honour may have felt a bit dejected when he cantered out of the ring with a score of 28 faults (24 jumping and 4 time penalties) but it soon became apparent that, as yesterday’s cross country course had been a real 4* test, so was the showjumping course today. Crystal Conning and Marcus Aurelius had a total of 34 penalties (30 jumping and 4 time penalties) while Keira Byrnes seemed to opt for a slower round trying to be more careful but this resulted in a similar score of 40 (16 jumping and 24 time penalties).
People may be wondering if we have decamped to the Adelaide Oval with what appears to be cricket scores appearing here but it must be remembered that these three riders are all young riders with a lot of promise for the future. To complete a 4 Star event is an achievement in its own right and sometimes this achievement takes a while (ask Craig Barrett............)
Jess Manson's Stockhorse Legal Star is related to Sonja Johnson's silver medal winning stockhorse Ringwould Jaguar
Jessica Manson from Western Australia had her own support team in the Heritage Grandstand and they went wild when Jess and her grey horse Legal Star jumped around the course in a good forward rhythm to have four fences down but only three time faults. Murray Lamperd’s black horse Under the Clocks looked super coming into the arena and proceeded to jump with ears pricked and looking full of energy.
They jumped the first half of the course particularly well but had three fences down and 4 time penalties; he later told us that he felt this was a really positive result for such a green horse and that ‘we can build on that’
Natalie Blundell and her grey thoroughbred Algebra also looked in good form as bounced around the track at a good forward pace to be the only combination without time faults. However they did pick up eight jumping penalties to leave Nat the 4 Star bridesmaid in Adelaide on this occasion but she is planning to be back next year to win it in a WEG selection year!
This meant that Craig Barrett and his homebred horse Sandhills Brillaire had four rails in hand but they didn’t need them. A smooth flowing round with only one fence down (the final fence, the HSBC Planks which had been proving so tough for everyone) and three time penalties meant that Craig Barrett had finally won the Australian International 3 Day Event 4 Star class
Not only did Craig win the main prize but he was also awarded the HSBC Training Bursary Prize which is presented to the highest placed rider never to have previously completed a 4 Star level event. The winning rider receives a training voucher to the value of US $1,000 to be spent on sessions with a trainer of their choice (I think that Craig knows a good eventing trainer by the name of Prue Barrett). Over the past few days there has been some mirth around the fact that Craig is a slightly more senior ‘first timer’ than most but he has now certainly broken the drought.
Interestingly his winning horse Sandhills Brillaire is by the same sire, Staccato, as last year’s winning horse, another mare Panamera, ridden by Stuart Tinney. The 20 year old stallion is standing at Craig and Prue Barrett’s home at Sandhills and he may be working overtime after scoring another 4 Star win by one of his progeny.
For the full photo gallery from Sunday CLICK HERE
Photos; Libby Law Photography
