Andrew and Lizzie were the morning show stars!
The first thing on the agenda for some riders this morning at Puhinui Horse Trials was breakfast with the stars - Andrew Nicholson and Lizzie Brown. Warwick Allan, ESNZ High Performance Operations Manager, posed questions of the two UK based riders to discover, amongst other things, that Lizzie is very pedantic about keeping her yard spotlessly clean while Andrew says that he’s over that! However there are plenty of people taking care of the yard at Andrew’s place who are an integral part of his team, a team that includes owners, riders and grooms who are all ‘passionate about the horses and winning’.
Meanwhile the dressage had started on the grass arenas next to the water complex, providing a good vantage spot for the handful of spectators. Like many events around the world, dressage day doesn’t attract many spectators (and apparently the Kiwis don’t like to go out if it looks like rain!) but the organisers are hopeful that cross country day tomorrow will see more crowds out and about on the Puhinui Reserve.
Today the two grass arenas where the CCI1* and 2* dressage was taking place looked green and were positively lush underfoot. For the CCI2* class in particular the areas in the arena between M and H became boggy as the morning progressed, causing obvious difficulties. A decision was made to re-locate one arena for the CCI3* class in the afternoon but, as one of the judges Helen Christie explained, all competitors need to be treated equally as far as possible
“Some horses were handling the ground well but others were struggling in the boggy patches. However, we can’t move the arenas during the test as it has to be the same conditions for all riders but we do give a lot of leeway in our judging due to the ground conditions”
At the lunch break Clarke Johnstone led the Cato Packaging CCI2* on a score of 47.4 on his catch ride Leo Degas. Clarke, who has returned to base himself back in New Zealand, is riding Leo Degas for Sam Taylor who is busy with his family and work commitments
Kate Wood and the 10 year old thoroughbred gelding Tobruk
Kate Wood riding Tobruk was also in the lead in the Veterinary Associates CCI1* on 35.8 at lunch and maintained that position for the rest of the day. Kate gave plenty of credit to her horse for giving her more confidence in the dressage phase recently saying that, despite originating from the Channel Islands, she had not grown up with the same inbuilt skills as her compatriot, dressage star Carl Hester
The Horse and Pony CCN105,which took place on an arena in a different area, had finished by the lunch break with the leader Kylee McCambridge riding Amazing Spy finishing on an ‘amazing’ score of 21.5.
The CCI2* finished in the afternoon sunshine, making it a little steamy but several riders really stepped up to the mark. Young rider squad member Virginia Thompson riding the nine year old bay mare Star Nouveau just sneaked in below Clarke’s score with 46.7 but Donna Smith and Balmoral Sensation (above) produced a score of 38.5 to top that. The elegant nine old grey gelding handled the ground well to produce a lovely test and Donna was delighted with the horse that she has high hopes for in the future
“He’s a nice mover and he travelled above the mud today which was really good” she said
This combination had a fall here last year in the CCI3* and Donna says she has been working hard for the past year to figure out and then fix what happened, resulting in dropping the horse back to compete at 2*level here this year.
“He’s a very exciting horse for the future and because of that we’ve decided to take a step back to fill in a few holes in our training and hopefully we’re on the way back up now”
Samantha Felton and Ricker Ridge Pico Boo
Samantha Felton was busy today riding three horses in the CCI2* and we caught up with her after her third test riding Ricker Ridge Pico Boo, who finished in fifth place on 48.9 while her two other rides Ricker Ridge Escada finished in 15th and Henton After Dark finished in fourth place on 48.1.
Debbie Higgs talks to Samantha Felton
All together now! Kiwi teamwork to move the arena for the CCI3*
To try and improve the going for the eight competitors in the Honda NZ CCI3*all hands were required on deck to actually manhandle the arena in one piece and move it several metres away from the muddy section. Once this was successfully completed the first 3* competitor, Brent Jury and SE Big entered the relocated arena. This was probably a test that farrier Brent would like to forget as SE Big decided to take exception to everything around the arena, finishing on a cricket score of 83.4 but tomorrow is another day
The current New Zealand National Champion, Angela Lloyd admitted that she had made a couple of little mistakes on Song and was slightly surprised to be in the lead. Her aim tomorrow is ‘to go fast and clear’ as there is only one penalty point separating the top three riders so, although she admits to having been called a ‘nana’ in the past she will be trying to make time on Tich Massey’s course. Dannie Lodder, currently in second place on Moochie and Simon Gordon in third on Fletch.com will certainly be hot on her tail
Slightly surprised but very happy - current National Champion Angela Lloyd
The Ground Jury are contemplating removing the approach fence to the water in the main arena but will wait to see if work on the area improves the footing before the cross country starts at 9am tomorrow
