Shane's second ride Virgil gets the traditional 'well done' ear pull at the end of the test
Today’s dressage phase of the Adelaide CCI4* class was not entirely a day of delight. Some riders would probably be glad to move on with their horses not putting in the expected performance in the spooky main arena, some were unhappy with their own performance and others were left wondering about their score
There were of course some bright moments. One of the happiest riders we spoke to today was the fourth placed Katie Roots who scored 49.7 on the ‘lame’ horse she brought back from England when she finished working with Zara Phillips.
Trevalgar II may have had soundness issues in the distant past (which turned out to be simply shoeing problems) but he must be one of the best bred eventing horses in Australia. He is by Fleetwater Opposition (sire of the legendary Opposition Buzz) and out of The Wexford Lady, a mare that placed in the top ten at both Burghley and Badminton ridden by Sarah ‘Cutty’ Cohen. Despite being bred ‘in the purple’ by Precis-Spark, the lameness issues resulted in them being unable to sell him and Katie’s best friend, a groom for Precis-Spark who adored the horse, suggested that Katie take a look at him.
Katie Roots and Trevalgar II
Since bringing him back from the UK thanks to some help from her parents, Katie and Trevalgar have had some very good results in recent times and Katie was thrilled with their performance today at their first CCI4* start
Katie Roots
Katja and BP Flamboyant
Second placed Katja Weimann was also very happy with her 12 year old BP Flamboyant, a homebred horse sired by Triathlete, a stallion that Katja also competed. BP Flamboyant is, as his name suggests, a flamboyant mover but can be a bit of a ‘worrier’; today however even the flapping flags and atmosphere of the main arena didn’t distract him and Katja felt that she could ride the entire test as she wanted
Christine Bates and Adelaide Hill
Very close behind Katja is third placed Christine Bates who, although very happy with her horse Adelaide Hill, was not totally happy with the score. For many Australian based riders this event is their best chance to impress the selectors in the lead up to Rio and they have their eyes firmly fixed on that goal; being in the top three is good but Christine was hoping for a better score than 49.40
Adelaide Hill’s name may be auspicious as he is named after this event. He was born while the event was on in 2002 and there is no doubt that this is one that Christine would love to win.
Visiting rider Clarke Johnstone from New Zealand was also disappointed with his score but the judges weren’t in his sights. Clarke and the grey Balmoral Sensation have won or been second at every international level competition in New Zealand since Clarke took over the ride in early 2014; their only blip was at Sydney International In April last year when Clarke came unseated at the water.
Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation
They have done some more sparkling tests for sub-40 scores in the past but today Balmoral Sensation was a little lacklustre and Clarke was visibly disappointed with their performance, saying that it was ‘totally my fault’. It may not have been the test he knew they were capable of but he still ended up in fifth place on a score of 50.10. Once again however Clarke is aiming for a berth on the New Zealand team for Rio so qualifying scores and top class performances at the limited opportunities that these riders get in the southern hemisphere are what it is all about
Shane and CP Qualified
Even the leader of the class was a little disappointed. While only 5.9 penalties separate second to tenth places, Shane Rose has a few penalties up his sleeve riding the Wischer family’s CP Qualified. They rode early in the day to score 42.10 while his bay horse Virgil finished in seventh place with a score of 50.80 but Shane says that it felt to him as if the scores should have been reversed (apologies for the wind noise on this recording - the wind was really whipping up by then!)
Will Enzinger also went early in the day on his first ride Wenlock Aquifer to finish in sixth place with a score of 50.40 and Megan Jones on Kirby Park Allofasudden is currently in eighth place on 52.80. Like many horses today, Kirby Park Allofasudden took objection to the rein-back
“That was very naughty” said Megan “But I must admit I was a bit surprised at the first halt which didn’t quite work and I thought ‘oh oh’ because we haven’t had a lot of competitions leading up to this then he settled well and I thought we were okay. I was happy with him overall”
Queenslander Isabel English on Feldale Mouse (54.60) and Western Australia’s Belinda Isbister on Holy Bruce (55) round out the top ten while Britain’s Alice Dunsdon, having a crack at completing all six CCI4* events, is probably celebrating being just outside of this group in 11th place. Alice and Fernhill Present received a warm welcome (and probably the biggest applause of the day on completing her test) from the crowd and a close to personal best score of 55.10 from the judges.
Will Enzinger and Wenlock Aquifer
With the dressage over the crowds were then treated to a Masterclass by dressage silver medallist and Australian eventing dressage coach Gareth Hughes (more about Gareth’s thoughts on today’s CCI4* coming up), followed by the Equestrian Australia Freestyle Dressage Grand Final (well done to eventer Niki Rose who finished third)
As the sun was going down so were the glasses of South Australian wine in the hands of the cafe goers packing the Heritage Grandstand while on the other side of the arena ladies in their finest frocks and suited gentlemen were making their way to the VIP marquee for the evening polo.
The Australian International 3 Day Event is creating its own flavour and it is 4* all the way
The man they will all be chasing tomorrow
