Katie Henderson had a few anxious moments in the CCI2*
The Sydney International Horse Trials got underway today with the trot up for the two CCI classes, which of course included the Trans Tasman teams in the CCI3*. The trot up was held outside the ‘Mess Hall’ close to the stables, which made it easy for riders and grooms to all be in the right place at the right time and under the watchful eye of volunteer extraordinaire Rod Winchester who kept everything ticking along nicely.
The smart CCI2* ground jury with Peter Shaw's shirt (centre) even matching his folder!
Under a beautiful blue sky, with the sun out and temperatures in the mid twenties the 14 combinations in the Tarraleah Park CCI2* presented first to their ground jury of Mr Jack Leary (USA), Mr Peter Shaw (AUS) and Mrs Jane Bruce (AUS). Two riders, Katie Henderson and Mathew Constance were sent to the holding box but much to their relief they passed on re-inspection.
Despite Heath Ryan admitting to not feeling the best after being up at 4am this morning to work horses at home before heading to SIEC he still looked the part adding some glamour and style to the preceding with a very dashing suit. The pair trotted up beautifully and will now be looking forward to dressage day tomorrow.
A dashing Heath
The New Zealand team presented first to the CCI3* ground jury, which consisted of Mrs Cara Whitham (CAN), Ms PollyAnne Huntington (AUS) and Ms Anne Tylee (NZL). Everything was going well until Joseph Waldron (with Springvale All Black) was asked to return to the ground jury after his trot up. He was then reminded by Cara Whitham that the trot up procedure included standing the horse still for the ground jury and vet prior to trotting. Never the less all was well and Springvale All Black passed.
Joseph Waldron and Springvale All Black
The Australian team all passed without incident but once the ground jury moved onto the other CCI3* Australian riders two horses, Cassilis Park Pendragon and Plenary Indulgence were held. On re-presenting the ground jury were happy that Jessica Rae’s mount Plenary Indulgence was fine to start the event while Emma Bishop received the sad news that Cassilis Park Pendragon would have to be saved for another day.
The CCI3* Ground Jury from the left: Mrs Cara Whitham (CAN), Ms PollyAnne Huntington (AUS) and Ms Anne Tylee (NZL)
As the ground jury and riders now get organized for tomorrows dressage Cara Whitham said she was “looking forward to an uneventful weekend with plenty of good riding. It’s looks like it’s going to be a beautiful weekend weatherwise and I’m sure it will be a great event.”
The action starts tomorrow at 8am when the Logan Floats CIC2* and Equitak Excel CIC* classes get underway. The Tarraleah Park CCI2* starts at 10am while riders in CCI3* class have until 12.30pm to get their horses into dressage mode.
Some of the Kiwi officials watch the trot up
