2011 winner, Christen Hayde on Tandarra Sweet As holding the Forest Gate Trophy Photo: Barbara Thomson.
In New Zealand all roads lead to Taupo this coming weekend, with not only the Contact Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge taking place, but also the New Zealand One-day Eventing Championships at the Fiber Fresh National Equestrian Centre at Aratiatia.
The winners of the CIC3* (Advanced) Championship will be awarded the prestigious Forest Gate Trophy, first presented in 1957, in honour of Mr Duncan Holden, one of the founding fathers of the New Zealand Horse Society, now known as Equestrian Sports New Zealand.
The trophy has been contested every year since, rotating round the country, but the one-day championships have not been staged at Taupo previously, although the national three-day event has found a permanent home there.
However there is more at stake than the national titles, which are run under FEI (International) rules, which means a 50% bonus in the points earned in the Eventing New Zealand series. Lasts year’s winner of the “Forest Gate”, as the Advanced title is known, took the lead in the Bell Tea Super League and was never headed.
Christen Hayde, Pukekohe, and Tandarra Sweet As will defend the title against eighteen of the country’s top combinations, including Annabel Wigley, who is bringing two horses from Amberley, including NRM Frog Rock, on whom she won the Eventing title at the Horse or the Year Show in Hastings in March.
The current leader of the Bell Tea Super League, Donna Smith, Te Kauwhata, on Tim and Sarah Varley’s Just Chocolate, will be trying to cement her place at the top, while a barrage of young riders are staking their claim for recognition on the senior stage.
Ashleigh McKinstry, Taumarunui, and her part Kaimanawa, Pioneer Makokomiko, lie second in the Bell Tea series as well as leading the Massey University Young Rider series. Charlotte Grayling, New Plymouth, daughter of former international Matthew Grayling, also holds top placings in both series with NRM Ru Star.
The CIC2* (Intermediate) and CIC1* (Novice) Championships, plus the Pre-Novice Championship run under ESNZ rules, have attracted large entries, including some South Islanders seeking to make their mark in the more intense competition in the North Island.
In order to accommodate the large number of entries, the dressage and showjumping take place on Saturday 24th with the cross-country on Sunday 25th.
By Virginia Caro
