Leaders after the first day of CCI2* dressage - Judy Clarke and Diablito
Under bright blue South Australian skies sprinkled with clouds, the first day of dressage at the Australian International 3 Day Event unfurled like one of the FEI flags flying above the arena
Shane Rose kicked off the day’s dressage for the Horseland CCI2* incorporating the Dublin Australian Young Rider Championships. Shane’s first ride, the homebred seven year old thoroughbred Shanghai Joe, delivered a score of 55.52 which put him in the lead until his friend Stuart Tinney overtook him with a very handy score of 45.35 riding Annapurna.
Stuart has high hopes for this beautiful black mare that is out of the same dam as his 4* ride, Pluto Mio and both horses are owned by John and Jane Pittard. Annapurna is sired by Donnerblitz, a warmblood stallion with strong bloodlines in both dressage and show jumping which is a great start for an eventing horse, especially when mixed with these good thoroughbred dam lines.
Stuart Tinney and Annapurna
Annapurna is looking physically very fit but was perfectly behaved and on song during her test and Stuart was very happy with her
“She was really relaxed and rideable throughout the whole test” he said afterwards “She’s a great horse for the future”
While Stuart maintained pole position for the entire morning the second place continued to change hands several times before lunch. Another homebred horse, Nikki Richardson’s compact young chestnut gelding Rudolf, who definitely has the look of his sire, Heath Ryan’s Grand Prix horse Regardez Moi, produced a lovely test for a score of 54.14 but it was Heath Ryan himself who later overtook her with a sub-50 score riding Aspire R (below)
The grey gelding looked pretty spooky as he powered around the outside of the dressage arena but immediately settled as they entered at A and impressed the judges to earn a score of 49.49. Heath always provides an element of theatricality to a dressage arena and today was no exception; as the bell rang to start his test, Heath exclaimed jovially “Well, I guess that will be for us then” and sailed in.
Charlotte Price riding Kevin McNab’s Dustman (above) was another who held the second spot for a while. This tall elegant horse ridden by an equally elegant rider produced an accurate, flowing test which was rewarded with a score of 52.41; Kevin was standing on the sidelines and looked pretty happy with his charges.
However it was the last rider of the morning session, Cassie Lowe (above) on her second ride of the day, Koko Doro, who pipped Heath at the post to take the second place to earn 48.11 from the judges before they left for lunch. Not surprisingly Cassie was really pleased when we caught up with her straight after her test.
As is often the case, the first rider after the lunch break broke the morning leader’s hold. Sometimes you wonder if this is due to an over generous lunch but definitely not so today. Judy Clarke and her 15 year old chestnut gelding Diablito have been consistently cleaning up at this level during 2013 and they didn’t disappoint today as you can see below
Judy gives a lot of credit to neighbour and mentor Shane Rose for helping her today and explained to Alison Duthie why, although originally she didn’t think she would compete at Adelaide, she is now here
Judy Clarke talks to Alison Duthie
Tim Boland had ridden in the morning on his more experienced horse Lord Limmerick but it was the recently acquired Napoleon (above) who finished the day in fourth spot on a score of 48.80. Napoleon, who was previously ridden by Rob Palm and known as Parklands Oakley, won the CCI 1* at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event in June but is now part of Tim’s exciting, and growing, team of horses.
John Lechner talks to Tim Boland about these young horses and his plans for next year
As well as finishing the day in third place on Koko Doro, Cassie Lowe’s final ride of the day on Fairview Metallica put her in sixth place on a score of 50.87 while Lindsay Honey (above) from Western Australia made the long journey worthwhile, scoring 52.07 on Bindaboo, a chestnut gelding by the renowned eventing sire Brilliant Invader
The Young Rider competitors in the CCI2* class rounded out the day and will continue in the morning before the HSBC Adelaide CCI4* dressage gets underway at 12:30pm.
Some experienced eyes check out the cross country course
Today many of those 4* riders were out on the cross country course checking out the fences on Wayne Copping’s course. Fence 17, which caused the many problems in last year’s 4* has been moved slightly which may help the horses, who come out of a darker area into the light, sight the fence better. It is certainly being looked at closely by riders this year!
There was also plenty of time today for a bit of retail therapy, lounging with a latte, sipping on a drink served from a bright red Combi bar or just sitting with friends in the sun. The weather is perfect for eventing over the next few days with a cool breeze keeping the temperatures down but the sun is strong so bring your sun block if you’re heading here tomorrow to watch the big guns come out to play.
Today's Top 10 Placings
|
1 |
Judy Clarke |
Diablito |
37.07 |
|
2 |
Stuart Tinney |
Annapurna |
45.35 |
|
3 |
Cassie Lowe |
Koko Doro |
48.11 |
|
4 |
Tim Boland |
Napoleon |
48.80 |
|
5 |
Heath Ryan |
Aspire R |
49.49 |
|
6 |
Cassie Lowe |
Fairview Metallica |
50.87 |
|
7 |
Lindsay Honey |
Bindaboo |
52.07 |
|
8 |
Charlotte Price |
Dustman |
52.41 |
|
9 |
Ali Foye |
Kung Fu Panda GP |
53.45 |
|
10 |
Rudolf |
Nikki Richardson |
54.14 |
